Holiday's
by Kioko the pirate
Summary: The Holiday season around the Pelekai household is chaos. Even more so now that the Ohana has grown. Humor, a little romance and so on. Please Read and Review.
1. Halloween

Holidays

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 1: Halloween

After all the months that had passed since the ordeal with Pantucka, after all the months of anxious waiting the holiday season was finally upon Lilo, Stitch and their now large ohana. Yet the fact that Kioko's time left on the planet was now almost gone the family still kept with the holiday spirit. Oki, Kina and Ashley in particular were full of holiday spirit since it would be the first Holiday season that they would be around for. They were a little upset that their uncle 625 had moved out, Lilo had found him an excellent job at a local bistro. However their excitement for the arrival of the first of the four holidays, Halloween, was overwhelming to say the least.

The day was bright as usual on the island of Kauai, an unusually strong breeze swept across the tiny piece of land, carrying with it the crisp smell of the ocean. The town seemed silent despite the approaching storm of rubber masks, jack o' Lanterns and buckets of candy. However the Pelekai house hold was of course an exception to this. Jumba, Pleakly and Stitch were outside setting up the Halloween decorations while Lilo and Nani prepared a few bowls full of candy for the onslaught of trick or treaters that was sure to arrive later that night. Meanwhile Angel was tending to a much more messier job, helping the kids carve their pumpkins.

"Tonight's going to be so awesome! We get to go out and get as much candy as we want!" shouted Kina joyfully as he scooped a large paw full of pumpkin guts out of his large pumpkin.

"Do we get to keep all of the candy we get, Mommy?" asked Ashley as she carefully plucked a few strands of pumpkin innards from in between her fingers.

Angel gave a warm smile as she looked over at her daughter. "Of course you do, just as long as you keep it away from your Father that is."

"How far are we allowed to go tonight?" asked Kina as he dug his paw into the pumpkin once again.

"You're allowed to go as far as the movie theater, but no further then that." answered Angel in a motherly tone.

"Are you letting us go alone?" asked Ashley.

Angel shook her head. "No, your father is going to take you."

"Can Uncle Kioko come with us too?" asked Kina hopefully.

A large smile found it's way across the pink experiment's face. "Yes he's coming too."

"This pumpkin is good." blurted Oki with a muffled voice.

His mother and two siblings both looked over at the young experiments with slightly disgusted looks on their faces. Oki had his mouth full of pumpkin guts, strands of the orange gourd hung out from his mouth like vines.

"Oki, get that out of your mouth right now!" shouted Angel. "You don't eat the inside of the pumpkin you throw it away."

Oki lowered his ears as he spat the pumpkin out into the bowl that held all the other pumpkin guts. "Sorry, Mom."

At that moment the front door opened, Stitch, Jumba and Pleakly all entered the house with satisfied smiles on their faces. The front of the house was now covered with spider webs, skeletons, fog machines, spooky noise makers and many more pieces that made the house look haunted.

"If those decorations don't scare anybody I'll be very surprised." said Stitch with a big grin as he walked over and sat down on the couch.

"The chances of any persons not being scared by fake human limbs and appendages sticking out of ground is very slim, 6-2-6." blurted Jumba as he sat down next to the little blue experiment.

"After all the Halloweens we've been through on this planet I think we've finally mastered the art of decorating a house for Halloween." blurted Pleakly as he walked over and looked out the front window.

Both Stitch and Jumba looked at the noodle like alien with raised eye brows. "Let me guess, after all this time you still find Halloween to be a 'fascinating' Earth tradition?" asked Stitch.

Pleakly looked back over his shoulder at the two aliens and gave a small shrug. "Don't you?"

Stitch and Jumba both gave sighs as they rolled their eyes. At that Moment Lilo and Nani both came into the room caring with them the large buckets of candy. Stitch's face quickly brightens upon seeing the mountains of candy being set on a small table next to the door. Lilo notices her friends expression and gives a small laugh.

"Don't even think about it, Stitch. This candy is for the trick-or-treaters."

"Oh, but Lilo can't I have just one piece? You've got so much there, there will be plenty for tonight." pleaded Stitch as he clasped his paws together hopefully.

"Sorry Stitch but the answer is no. If we let you have even one piece you'll have your head buried in that bowl faster then you can say aloha."

Stitch folded his arms over his chest and gave a defeated moan as he slouched down into the couch. Lilo gave another small laugh as she watched Stitch give an adorable little pout. The room became silent as Lilo, Nani and Pleakly all went back into the kitchen. After a few moments the silence was broken once more as the kids and Angel came into the living room.

"Daddy, look at our pumpkins!" shouted Oki happily as he ran into the living room with his pumpkin in his arms.

Stitch quickly sat up in his seat as the three kids ran in front of him, holding up their pumpkins happily. Each of them had carved their own little design into the pumpkins. Oki had carved a vicious looking face into his, it had many triangular teeth and narrow, evil looking eyes. Kina had carved a basic Jack-o-Lantern face into his pumpkin, with triangular eyes, nose and square teeth. Ashley had carved a rose design into her pumpkin, but to keep it from getting to girly she had put a multitude of thorns onto it's stem.

"What do you think of them, Dad?" asked Ashley.

Stitch gave an impressed nod as he looked at all the pumpkins. "They look great, kids. You did a wonderful job on them." smiled Stitch.

The kids all gave joyous grins at their Fathers compliments. Angel also had a happy smile on her face as she walked over behind the kids. "Why don't you go put those pumpkins outside on the porch? When it gets dark we'll put candles in them to light them up." instructed Angel as she looked at each of the kids.

"Ok, Mommy." smiled Kina.

Without another word the three children ran off to the front door, quickly opening it and running out onto the front porch. Angel gave a happy sigh as she watched the children run out.

"You know, I'm impressed with you too, Angel," smiled Stitch as he hopped off the couch and walked over to his buchi-boo. "This is only your second Halloween here and your first Halloween where your not dealing with overwhelming cravings and morning sickness. Yet you've still managed to teach the kids how to carve pumpkins like pros." finished Stitch as he wrapped his arms around Angel and kissed her on the cheek.

Angel gave a small giggle as she placed her paws on Stitch's arms. "Well just because I spent most of last Halloween trying not to eat the pumpkin doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention."

Both Stitch and Angel shared a laugh as they gently rocked back and fourth. Suddenly the front door once again swung open and the kids ran back into the living room. Coming to a sudden stop in front of Stitch and Angel who were still holding each other.

"Eww, Mommy and Daddy are getting all snuggly again!" shouted Oki as he stuck his tongue out.

Stitch gave a sly smile as he buried his nose into Angel's cheek, causing the pink experiment to giggle slightly. "Oh you three just wait until you find your own buchi-boos. Then you'll be the ones who are going to be doing all of this snuggling stuff." said Stitch as he looked at the kids out of the corner of his eye.

All three of the kids gave a disgusted 'eww' as they wrinkled their noses. Stitch's smile widened as he kissed Angel once again on the cheek, watching as the kids shook their heads in disgust before running off for their room. Stitch and Angel both laughed as they watched the kids scramble up the stairs. After hearing their door shut Stitch once again looked back towards Angel and gave her another kiss.

"I should go get the kids into their costumes, before it gets to late." said Angel.

"I didn't know you bought them costumes?"

"Well we didn't buy them costumes…" started Angel.

"Me and Angel made their costumes." finished Lilo as she walked into the living room.

"You two made them?" asked Stitch as he looked over at Lilo with a surprised look.

"Yep, we barrowed Pleakly's sewing machine and some of the material he had lying around and just threw together a little something for the kids." explained Lilo as she sat on the couch.

"Yep, and I'd say we did a good job too. Wouldn't you say so, Lilo?" asked Angel with a confident smile.

"I think we did better then good, I think we did great."

Angel gave a nod of agreement as Stitch gave a nod of his own. "Well, I cant' wait to see these costumes you've made." smiled Stitch.

"To be telling the truth, I'm interested to see what not so little, little girl and 6-2-4 have come up with." blurted Jumba as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully

"Well then I better go and get them into to their costumes," said Angel as she gently pulled out of Stitch's arms. "Hopefully Oki hasn't eaten his yet."

Lilo gave a small sigh as she rubbed her forehead. "We really need to find a way to stop that boy from eating things he's not supposed too."

Angel gave a shrug. "That's easier said then done. After all he is Stitch's son." smiled Angel as she looked at Stitch.

"Hey, I've gotten better at controlling myself." defended Stitch as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Better, but you're still not quite there yet." said Angel as she kissed Stitch on the nose.

Stitch gave another sigh as Angel went off to help the kids. The blue experiment slowly walked over and sat down on the floor in front of the couch, leaning against Lilo's legs and rubbing his face with his paws.

"This is going to be a long night," moaned Stitch. "Keeping those kids close by will be almost impossible since there will be so much free candy around. Luckily Angel has that yell of hers that'll keep them close by hopefully."

"Uh Stitch, Angel isn't going out tonight." said Lilo.

A shocked expression swept across Stitch's face as he looked up at Lilo. "She's not? But I thought for sure she'd go out with the kids tonight. After all it is the kids first Halloween."

Lilo shook her head. "Nope, instead she's asked Kioko to go along with you to take the kids trick-or-treating."

"Kioko? Why?" asked Stitch as he got up to his feet.

"Well, it'll give the kids some time with their Uncle and it will give you two some more time to bond. Angel still thinks you two could be a little less competitive around each other."

"Ugh, I love her, I love her." groaned stitch as he turned to face the window while throwing his arms in the air.

Lilo just gave a small laugh as the sound of scampering paws echoed down from upstairs. A second later the kids came rushing down the steps and into the living room. All of the rooms occupants looked towards the children as they slide to a stop in front of their Father. All three of them were dressed in little cowboy/cowgirl outfits. Each had on little leather vests and hats and were wearing tiny cowboy boots with spurs on them.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Kina as he clicked the heels of his boots together.

A large smile formed on Stitch's face as he looked at the three. "You all look awesome! But I think you're missing one tiny part."

"What's that, Daddy?" asked Ashley.

"Well if your going to be little cow folk, shouldn't you have gun belts?"

"Ah yes, no outfit is being completely with handy plasma blasters at side!" exclaimed Jumba.

Lilo looked over at the scientist with a raised brow. "They didn't have plasma blasters in the old west, Jumba."

"Yeah Grandpa, they had revolvers." grinned Oki.

"For last time, please not to be calling Jumba Grandpa!" shouted Jumba.

Angel's laugh suddenly filled the room as she casually walked in. "You know their going to keep calling you that, since it annoys you so much. Besides, since you are basically our Dad, you instantly qualify for Grandpa status." explained Angel as she walked over to Stitch.

Jumba just gave a grumble as he slouched down into the couch. "So, what do you think of our work?" asked Lilo.

"I think you did an excellent job. I'm very impressed." said Stitch as he looked back and fourth between Lilo and Angel, smiling at them both.

"Well we modeled them after your old cowboy outfit. The one you apparently wore when you were in that bull wrestling contest." said Angel with a smile.

"Oh, that outfit."

"Yes, that outfit." said Angel as she leaned in towards Stitch, bringing her herself close to his ear. "Which by the way I've never had the pleasure of seeing you in." whispered Angel.

A sly smile formed on Stitch's face as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Stitch turned to face her and leaned in over her shoulder. "Well maybe you'll get to do some trick-or-treating of your own later tonight." whispered Stitch.

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Ashley curiously.

Stitch and Angel leaned away from each other and looked towards their daughter. "It's nothing you should be worrying about. We were just discussing some Mommy and Daddy stuff." said Stitch.

A confused expression appeared on the young girls face as she tried to figure out what her Father was talking about. "Why don't you kids go get your gun belts? There in our room on the bed." said Angel with a warm smile.

"Ok!" shouted the kids as they once again ran off towards the stairs.

At that Moment Nani came speedily walking into the room. A small checklist in one hand and a pen in the other. "Uh oh, Nani-zilla's on the preparation war path again." said Lilo with a small grin.

Stitch gave a small laugh as Nani hurriedly went around the room, checking off things on her little list. She seemed almost oblivious to every one else's presence, at least for the moment. Her eyes quickly fell onto the two experiments, alien scientist and her younger sister.

"Why are you all just sitting around?" asked Nani in a raised voice. "There are things that need to be done before tonight. And tonight is in less then two hours."

"Relax, Nani. Every big thing that needed to be done is done. Just relax for a bit." explained Lilo.

"Yeah, you don't need to do anymore tonight. Me and Lilo can pass out the Candy while Stitch and Kioko take the kids out." said Angel.

A confused look appeared on Nani's face as she looked down at the tiny pink experiment. "You mean you're taking your kids out trick-or-treating?"

"Well Stitch and Kioko are, not me. But yeah… their going out trick-or treating." answered Angel.

"Why does that surprise you?" asked Lilo.

"Why does it surprise me? Their… their the children of two experiments and you're taking them out among all of those human children? Don't you think it's a little bit risky?"

An angry look appeared on Stitch, Angel and Lilo's faces. "That's evil, Nani. How could you think of keeping those kids from participating in such a happy event?" scolded Lilo as she got to her feet.

"Well what if people get freaked out?" asked Nani defensively.

"I think this island has grown accustomed enough to our presence that there shouldn't be any problems." said Angel angrily.

"Yeah, besides… I always went out with Lilo when she was little. No one ever complained then." added Stitch.

"That was then this is now." replied Nani.

"Now there should be even less complaining." snapped Lilo.

Nani opened her mouth to say something but she was quickly interrupted by another voice. "Complaining about what?"

Every one looked over to see Kioko coming through the front door, a large grey sack slung over his shoulder. "Nani was just trying to say that taking the kids out trick-or-treating was a bad idea." explained Lilo as she shot her sister a dirty look.

Kioko gave a shrug as he sat the sack down on the floor. "I don't see anything wrong with Stitch and Angel taking them out."

Angel quickly raised her finger. "Uh Kioko, we decided that you and Stitch were going to take the kids out tonight."

A confused look appeared on the pirates face as he raised an eye brow. "Ok…"

"I still don't think they should go out." blurted Nani.

A group sigh filled the room. "Nani, it'll be fine. It won't look weird especially since I'm going to be going out with them." sighed Kioko.

Nani gave a frustrated sigh as she held her forehead. "Fine, fine, it's obvious that I'm never going to get any where with you all. I give up."

With out another word Nani walked over and flopped down into a near by chair. After words the grey sack that Kioko had been carrying caught every one's attention.

"So, what's in the sack?" asked Lilo curiously.

A small smile snuck across Kioko's face as he looked down at the sack. "This, is my contribution to the decorations outside." explained Kioko as he reached down and opened the sack.

Every one looked on curiously as the pirate reached into the bag. A moment later he pulled out what appeared to be a mummy, it appearance was of grey, dry skin stretched across bone. Kioko lifted the mummy up into the air by the back of it's neck.

"Wow, that looks so realistic!" shouted Lilo.

"Yeah, that looks like something they'd use in the movies." added Stitch

Kioko gave a small chuckle. "Looks realistic? This is realistic."

A confused look appeared on every ones faces. "What do you mean?" asked Angel.

A small grin appeared on Kioko's face as he looked the mummy up and down. "Well, say hello to the ancient Egyptian high priest, Nephrotia."

Every ones expressions changed instantly to that of a shocked appearance. All of them quickly looked between Kioko and the mummy with out making a word. For a few moments the room was completely silent, until Nani shot up to her feet angrily.

"Are you saying that's a real mummy?" shouted Nani as she walked up to Kioko.

"Yep, sure is." smiled Kioko proudly.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Lilo as she quickly ran over next to Kioko. "I've never seen a mummy this close up before."

"You want to touch it?' offered Kioko as he held the mummy out to Lilo.

A massive grin forms on Lilo's face as she extends her hand out towards the mummy. The Hawaiian teen gave a joyous giggle as she poked the mummy's chest. The mummy's leathery skin sent a chill up Lilo's spin causing her to shaky slightly. Stitch gave a curious coo as he watched his friend poke the mummy. The blue experiment slowly began walking towards the ancient man but stopped when he felt a paw on his shoulder. Stitch gave an innocent grin as he looked over his shoulder at Angel, who had a disapproving look on her face.

"Come on, can't I just poke it once?" asked Stitch pleadingly.

"Not if you plan on ever touching me again." replied Angel.

"Oh man." whined Stitch.

"How did you end up with a mummy?" asked Lilo as she stepped back from the mummy

"Well, it was a gift. A sort of thank you gift." explained Kioko.

"Who would give you a mummy as a thank you gift?" asked Nani questionably.

Kioko rolled his eyes as he set the mummy down. "Oh just… King Tut." smiled Kioko with a proud tone.

Lilo's and Nani's eyes both widened in an instant. "King tut?" shouted Lilo.

"Yep, you see ole Nephrotia here was a corrupted priest serving under king tut. Well, Tut found out that Nephrotia was stealing gold, Nephortia ran and then… made the mistake of trying to run me over with a camel. And well that was the last of the corrupt priest and as a thank you tut gave me Nephrotia's mummified body. Though I didn't want it." explained Kioko casually.

"Wait, let me get this straight… you meet King tut? But that was over 2,000 years ago." blurted Nani.

"And how old am I? Nani, I was on this planet before you humans even started recording your history."

Nani gave a sigh as she held her forehead, shaking her head disbelievingly. "You aliens…" sighed Nana as she wandered off into the kitchen.

For a short moment every one in the room watched silently as Nani disappeared around the corner. But soon after attention was returned back to the previous issues.

"So, I'm taking the kids out trick-or-treating, huh?" asked Kioko as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Yep, you and Stitch are." blurted Lilo.

"Why?" asked Kioko flatly.

Angel gave a sigh as she walked over to Kioko and climbed up his coat so she was face to face with the pirate. "Listen, I just think it's a god idea if you and Stitch get a little more time to bond. Plus, it'll let the kids have a little time with their favorite uncle." smiled Angel as she poked Kioko's chest.

Kioko narrowed his eyes suspiciously as the pink experiment smiled at him. "What are you up to?" asked Kioko in a whisper.

A surprised look appeared on Angel's face. "What, I'm not up to anything I promise." said Angel trying to play innocent.

Kioko continued to stare at Angel with the same suspicious look for a few moments before finally giving a snort. "Fine, if you say you're not up to anything… I'll believe you." said Kioko with a low tone.

A toothy grin spread across the female experiments face. "Thank you, Kioko."

"Yeah, yeah. So… where are the kids?" asked Kioko as he looked past Angel.

"They should be coming down soon." blurted Lilo.

As if on cue the kids came bounding down the stairs nosily. In a flash the three kids where in the living room, surrounding their uncle and clicking their little toy guns while making gun noises. A small smile formed on the pirates face as he looked down at the three happy children.

"Well if it isn't the three banditos. I feel like I'm back in the old west." smiled Kioko.

"Hey, we're not bandits…we're sheriffs!" shouted Kina proudly.

"Speak for yourself." blurted Oki as he pulled a small red bandana over his mouth.

"I'm a cowgirl, Uncle Kioko." smiled Ashley as she tipped her hat.

"I see that," said Kioko a she kneeled down to the kids level. "And I'd have to say you're the cutest cowgirl around these here parts." finished Kioko with an old western accent.

Ashley gave a small giggle as her cheeks turned a slight shade of red. "Eww, her cute. Yeah right." teased Oki.

Ashley gave a small huff as she gave her brother a dirty look, while Kioko gave a smile of his own. "Hey, Oki," called Kioko.

"What?" asked Oki as he looked towards Kioko.

Kioko raised his index finger towards Oki while raising his thumb to simulate a pistol. "Gotcha." smiled Kioko as he quickly lowered his thumb.

Oki dramatically grabbed onto his chest and stumbled backwards. "He got me!" moaned Oki as he playfully fell backwards. "I'm done for."

Both Kioko and Ashley laughed as the boy stuck his tongue out. Meanwhile Angel walked away from the chaos and back over to Lilo and Stitch. She came to a stop next to Stitch and gave a sigh a she leaned on his shoulder.

"See, the kids love their Uncle." blurted Angel.

"And they love their Father." added Lilo.

"And you wouldn't want them to continue seeing their Father and Uncle competing over stupid little things now would you?" finished Angel as she rubbed her forehead on Stitch's cheek.

"No… I guess not." said Stitch a she looked down at his Buchi-boo.

"So, you won't mind taking the kids out with Kioko tonight, right?" asked Lilo a she kneeled down next to Stitch.

Stitch gave a groan as he was snuggled on both sides by Angel and Lilo. "Why do I have to love you two so much?" asked Stitch as he looked back and fourth between Lilo and Angel.

"Is that a 'Yes, I'm fine with it' or what?" asked Lilo cautiously.

Stitch gave another groan as he rolled his eyes. "Yes it is."

The two girls were instantly overcome by large toothy grins as they hugged their favorite blue experiment tighter, causing Stitch to groan and roll his eyes once more.

**Well that's the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Just to let you know, this story will cover all four main Holidays from Halloween to the New Years. Each Holiday will be covered by 1 or2 chapters ( though the average will probably be 2). Anyway, if you have any questions send me a PM. Well please review.**


	2. Halloween part 2

Holiday's

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 2: Halloween part 2

The night was now practically upon them, trick-or-treating was only an hour away. Every one was rushing around the house making the final arrangements and preparations for the night. Jumba was checking some of the computer controlled decorations, Lilo and Nani were making caramel covered apples for later, and Kioko was sitting on the couch. The kids where sitting in front of the TV watching, of course, an old western movie and Angel was standing at the base of the stairs tapping her foot lightly.

"Stitch are you ready yet?" shouted Angel, sounding anxious.

There was a short pause before Stitch shouted down from there room. "Almost!"

"Well hurry up!" replied Angel.

Kioko gave a small laugh as he looked over at the pink experiment. "Geez, Angel… a bit anxious are we?" asked the pirate with a fiendish smirk.

Angel partially turned toward the pirate and gave him a questionable look. "What do you mean anxious?"

Kioko gave another small laugh as he leaned his head back on the couch. "Oh come on, we both know why you want to see Stitch in his old western outfit."

Angel gave a small huff, though an almost unnoticeable smile formed on her face at the same time. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean," stated Kioko with a wink. "But I never pictured you going for the rough, rugged, cowboy type."

Angel stared at Kioko for a moment with her mouth hung open slightly and her eyebrow raised. Suddenly the moment was broken by a knock at the door. "Go get the door, smart guy." commanded Angel motioning for the door and turning back toward the steps. "Come on Stitch!"

Kioko gave another laugh as he got to his feet and made his way to the front door. Kioko opened the door, revealing a giant snarling green monster with glowing eyes and dagger like claws. Kioko gave an unimpressed sigh a she looked up at the creature.

"Nice try, buddy. Better luck next time."

The monster shrinks down to less then half it's original size, slowly the tiny green experiment is revealed, giving a sigh of it's own as it looked up at the pirate. "One of these days I'm going to scare you, Kioko." blurted Spooky as he walked past the pirate and into the house.

"You just keep thinking that, little guy." Smiled Kioko as he shut the door.

At that moment Stitch came down the stairs, mimicking the walk the cowboys use in the movies. Angel's face lit up as Stitch came to a stop in front of her. "Well howdy there, little missy." greeted Stitch as he tipped his hat.

"Oh, I like this, I like this a lot." grinned Angel as she wrapped her arms around Stitch's neck.

"You know, getting this close to the sheriff is a big offense in these here parts," smiled stitch as he reached up and flicked the tiny plastic star on his chest. "I may have to put you in the pokey."

Angel gave a sensuous purr as she came nose to nose with the blue experiment. "You can put me any where you want, sheriff."

The two of them smiled as they began kissing each other lovingly. They didn't notice that almost every one in the room was watching. After a minute of kissing Kioko finally spoke up. "Ok you two, save it for the jail house. There are children present after all."

The two lovers each gave one more kiss before pulling apart. "Aren't you going to wear a costume tonight?" asked Stitch as he looked over toward Kioko.

"No, my regular outfit is good enough."

"Nope!" shouted Angel with a small smile.

Both Kioko and Stitch looked at her curiously. "What do you mean nope?" asked Kioko.

Angel gave a confident smile as she folded her arms over her chest. "You are going to wear a costume, one that I picked out especially for you."

"You bought a costume especially for him?" asked stitch curiously.

"Yep." smiled Angel.

"Why?" asked Kioko growing suspicious of the little experiment.

"Just because," Angel walked over and stuck her head out of the doggy door. "Jumba, do you have Kioko's costume?" shouted Angel as she looked up toward the roof.

"I do!" replied Jumba. "Will be down in one moment, 6-2-4."

A moment later there was a loud thump outside. Angel took a couple steps back as Jumba opened the door and walked in. The large alien walked over and handed Kioko a small round, metal sphere. The sphere had a ring of multicolored lights around the center and had five glowing spots on it. Four on top and one on the bottom, the sphere was a little larger then a baseball. Kioko looked at the device curiously, holding it up to eye level and examining it carefully.

"What is this?" asked Kioko as he looked over at Jumba and Angel.

"That's your costume." grinned Angel as she put her paws behind her back.

Kioko raised one eye brow confusedly. "A metal sphere is my costume?"

"No, no," blurted Jumba as he waved his hands gently. "That is Jumba's latest invention. A universal apparel storage and instant swapping device. It allows for infinite storage of all clothing's and can instantly switch ones outfit to what ever they are wanting." explained Jumba with a proud tone in his voice.

"All you do is put your fingers on those little spots and presto, instant costume. Go ahead, try it out. I'm sure you'll like your costume." grinned Angel.

Kioko continued to look at the experiment suspiciously for a few moments. Finally the pirate gave a sigh and placed his fingers on the spots. There was an instant flash of light that filled the room. It quickly faded and the sound of restrained laughter replaced it. Kioko looked around curiously as he saw every one holding back their laughter.

"What are you all laughing at?" asked Kioko a little annoyed.

"You may want to look down," blurted Stitch swallowing his laughter. "Then again, you may not."

Kioko looked over at the blue experiment and then down at himself. What he saw made his eyes widen and his teeth clench. The pirate now had a frilly pink skirt around his waist, pink puffy shoulders and a pink and white bonnet. He had a white sheep herder's staff in his left hand and had white tights on his legs. Kioko's teeth and fists clenched as he looked upon his almost entirely pink outfit.

"What the f is this!" yelled Kioko.

"Hey, Kioko what did I tell you about using that language in this house!" shouted Nani as her and Lilo walked into the room.

Their sights instantly fall upon the pirate in the dress and both of them break out in laughter. "When did little bow peep get here?" mocked Lilo as she leaned on the doorway.

"Ha," shouted Angel victoriously. "It may have taken over a year but I finally got back at you for that squirt gun incident!"

The room was now filled with laughter as Kioko continued to clench his teeth in anger. But finally the pirate gave a sigh and unclenched his teeth and fists. "Well, it was a nice try, Angel. But all I have to do is use this sphere again and I'm back to normal." Kioko once again places his fingers on the spots. But there was no flash, there was nothing.

Kioko looked down at the device, shaking it and tapping it on his palm. "What's wrong with this thing?"

Jumba came off of his own laughter, wiping away a tear that had snuck out. "Was I mentioning that device is set on timer? You can not be going back to regular outfit until 10:30 pm. Also, you cannot be removing outfit, it is molecularly bonded to you."

Kioko looked over at Jumba with an 'I'm going to hurt you' look. The pirate threw the device to Jumba, his anger growing once again. "You see, Kioko." blurted Angel. "You don't mess with me; I'll get you back no matter what."

Kioko's gaze drifted over to Angel and a fiendish smile instantly appeared. "Oh, if I didn't like you as much as I do… oh boy…" laughed Kioko with an evil look in his eye.

Angel gave a huff as she placed her paws on her hips. "You'd do what?" asked Angel snootily before blowing a raspberry.

Kioko finally hit his limit as a toothy grin crossed his face. "That's it, get over here!" shouted Kioko as he lunged toward Angel.

The pink experiment gave a scream as she turned and darted into the kitchen, Kioko following close behind. "Hey, don't be too hard on her, Kioko!" shouted Stitch as he ran after them. "I still need her you know!" said Stitch jokingly.

Stitch disappeared into the kitchen, but suddenly came sliding back into the living room on his back, preceded by a loud smacking noise. Stitch came to a stop and sat up, a large, red, paw shaped mark on his cheek. "Ow," shouted Stitch as he placed his paw on his red cheek. "I was just the victim of a drive by slapping!"

While Stitch got back on his feet the sound of Angel's screams and small crashing noises could be heard around the house. But suddenly, there was silence. Every one looked toward the kitchen as Kioko came back into the room, holding Angel by her foot.

"Put me down, Kioko!" commanded Angel as she folded her arms over her chest. "This is not how you treat a lady!"

Kioko gave a small laugh as he raised the experiment up to his eye level. "And this is not how you treat a pirate." yelled Kioko as he grabbed onto his bonnet.

"Well you deserved it."

"If that's so then you deserve to be hung by your foot."

Angel gave a sigh as she looked away defeated. "I'm sorry."

A pleased grin appeared on Kioko's face. "Thank you, Angel. For that I won't tie you upside down to a tree."

"Thank you, so could you put me down now? The blood is rushing to my head."

Kioko walked over and dropped Angel onto the couch upside down. So her head was on the cushion and her butt was in the air. "Hey, look!" shouted Spooky as he pointed at Angel's rear end. "Full moon rising!"

Spooky burst into laughter while every one else looked on unimpressed. The green experiment was laughing so hard that he had his eyes closed and was holding his gut. Finally the experiment regained control of him self, but when he opened his eyes he found himself face to face with an angry, blushing Angel. Spooky gave a big innocent grin as he looked at her.

"H… Hello." grinned Spooky.

In the next instant Spooky was sent flying across the room and into a wall. The room went silent as the green experiment slid to the floor dazed. Angel continued to glare over at Spooky as Stitch walked up beside her, wrapping one arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Spooky but… you deserved that." said Stitch, getting a smile from Angel. "After all, that's my full moon."

Angel instantly drove her elbow into Stitch's gut, causing Stitch to wince painfully. Angel angrily folded her arms over her chest and walked off. "Men." growled Angel as she walked off to the kitchen.

Every one was still rather speechless as they watched the angry female experiment walk off. But the kids found the whole thing very humorous as they looked around the room at every ones surprised expressions.

"Mommy's funny." grinned Kina with a small laugh.

"Yeah." agreed his siblings, giggling as well.

A little while later the time for Trick or Treating was upon them. A few kids were already making their way up to the Pelekai house, where they were greeted by their worst fear thanks to Spooky. Who now had a black or rather dark green eye. The kids were eagerly hopping up and down in front of the door, anxious to get going. Their Father and Uncle however were less then excited.

"Listen, I know I said I would go through with this but… do I really need to?" whined Stitch as he looked over at Angel, who was now wearing a simple witch's hat.

Angel gave a sigh as she placed her paws on Stitch's shoulders, lightly scratching at his leather vest. "Just do it for the kid's sake's. Ok?"

"Do you have to bring our children into this?"

Angel gave a small laugh. "What else could make you go through with this?" said Angel rhetorically.

"I know a few things." said Stitch with a sly smile.

Angel smiled back and gave him a quick kiss on the nose. "Just do it, please?"

Stitch gave an overly dramatic sigh as he gave an overly dramatic sigh as he placed his paw on his forehead. "Fine, but just because I love you and the kids so much."

The two smiled and shared another quick kiss before turning back to the kids. Oki was practically scratching at the door because of the anxiousness, so they decided it was time to let the three out.

"Ok, who's ready for some Trick or Treating?" asked Lilo with a smile.

"We are!" shouted the kids in unison.

"Ok, then lets move'em out!" shouted Lilo as she threw her fist into the air.

The kids all gave a cheer as Lilo opened the door, she cautiously stepped back as the kids darted out and down the steps, nearly knocking over a trick or treater that was coming up. Stitch and Kioko both grudgingly made their way toward the door.

"See you later, Hun." Smiled Angel as she gave Stitch a small kiss on the cheek. Stitch rolled his eyes with a groan and turned toward the door. Angel got a sly smile of her own as she slapped the furry blue experiment on the butt as he headed for the door. Stitch gave a surprised squeak and looked back at her. "Don't forget to round them up when they're done, partner." grinned Angel.

Stitch just gave a small smile as he once again turned toward the door and walked out. Kioko was close behind his face blushing ever so slightly as he made his way past Angel who just gave him an evil little smirk.

"Have fun." mocked Angel as she folded her arms over her chest.

Kioko gave a small growl as he looked down at the experiment. "You're despicable."

Angel shrugged. "Can't blame me, Stitch is my mate and I'm around you a lot. Some thing's bound to rub off." smiled Angel.

Kioko just shook his head and walked out the door and down the stairs. "Hey, look its Princess Pink!" shouted a teenage boy as he made his way up the steps.

Kioko stopped next to the boy, who was now laughing. With out even looking at the boy Kioko reached out and pushed him over the railing and into the bushes, before continuing down the stairs. Both Lilo and Angel laughed as they watched the boy stumble out of the bushes dazed and Kioko and Stitch walk down the drive way, the kids leaping ahead of them.

To Kioko's and Stitch's surprise keeping the kids in sight and more importantly under control was easier then expected. They had managed to complete three whole streets in just under an hour. The kids didn't seem at all tired either as they darted from one house to another. The kids were obviously having an awesome time as they laughed and ran around happily. But Stitch and Kioko were not having the best night. They constantly got strange looks from other people, as well as hushed whispers. Of course even on Halloween one would not expect to see a man dressed in a pink dress walking a long with a short, blue, fuzzy cowboy.

Both Kioko and Stitch gave small growls as people pointed and whispered to one another. "Remind me to humiliate your mate when we get home." growled Kioko, keeping his focus on the kids who were running from house to house.

Stitch gave a sigh as he dropped his shoulders. "There's nothing we could do to make her more humiliated then we are now."

"Speak for your self; you're not walking around in a freakin' dress."

Stitch gave a small laugh as he glanced up at the pirate. "You think I like being seen walking along with Ms. Pink?"

Kioko glared down at Stitch as he clenched his fist around his staff. "Watch it blue boy, or else you may not be coming home at all tonight."

"What are you going to do? Throw flower petals at me?" mocked Stitch. Kioko just gave a low growl as they continued down the street. "Angel's right though," started Stitch on a more serious tone. "We don't want to have you leave and us still be on a sour note with each other. The kids wouldn't like it."

Kioko gave a sigh as he reached up and rubbed his forehead. "You're right, but I just wish she could have thought of a better way. For us to spend some 'bonding time' together."

"I just don't get her though, does she not like there being a little competition between us?" asked stitch as he looked up at Kioko.

"No, she just doesn't like how we take it to such extremes some times. Like that fight we had, I know she didn't want us doing that." said Kioko insightfully. "But I think what really gets her isn't our competitive nature toward each other, but our unwillingness to listen, our unwillingness to listen to some one when they know a competition is useless."

Stitch looked away and toward the house where the kids were waiting for their candy. Their eager faces light up when the woman inside dropped two full sized candy bars into each of their bags. "It's just hard sometimes. Even in the smallest competition I feel as though I have to dominate my opponent. Like I have to prove myself to some one or something over and over again."

"You're not the only one who feels that way." blurted Kioko. "I feel that same way, and it's just because we are more powerful then most. We have this power and we just feel that we have to assert that power constantly. It's a controlling behavior; we do it so we don't feel like we're losing control."

Stitch gave a small chuckle as he took off his hat and examined the inside brim. "But you know, sometimes it feels good to lose control of the situation. It's an almost liberating feeling."

Kioko looked down at the experiment curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean when you pinned me in that fight… I actually felt relieved. I felt that I could relax a little. When you helped me up, I realized that life would go on for me even if I had lost. And I know I can't believe that in all situations but… it felt good." Smiled stitch as he put his hat back on.

Kioko narrowed his eyes as he looked away from stitch. A solemn look swept over his face. 'I wish it was possible for me to feel that way… but for me… losing means death… one way or another.' thought Kioko.

At that moment a boy in an Elvis costume rode up beside Kioko and stitch. "Hey, you in the pink," called the boy, getting both Stitch and Kioko to look over. "I'm proud of you."

Both Kioko and Stitch got confused looks on their faces. "You're… proud of me? For what?" asked Kioko.

The boy smiled and gave a small laugh. "For coming out so boldly," started the boy. "It's good to see more men coming out and expressing their preferences despite what society might think."

"What?" screamed Kioko as he clenched his teeth angrily.

"And doing it on Halloween too, that's very smart." The boy reached into his coat and pulled out a small card and handed it to Kioko, who for some reason took it. "We're opening up a new club in town for guys like us. I hope to see you there." grinned the boy before riding off, leaving Kioko with a confused and disgusted look.

Stitch began to chuckle, causing Kioko to glare down at him. "What are you laughing about?" growled Kioko as he crumpled the card in his hand.

"Kioko's got a new friend." grinned Stitch tauntingly.

Stitch instantly broke out into uncontrollable laughter. Kioko's growl grew deeper as he watched the experiment laugh his head off, Stitch was now laughing so hard he had to hold his head. After a moment Kioko got a cruel smile on his face. The pirate raised his staff up like a golf club, grinning even more as he lined it up.

"Four!" shouted Kioko instantly snapping Stitch out of his laughing fit.

"What?" shouted stitch in a panicky tone.

The experiment had no time to react as Kioko swung the staff, smacking Stitch square in the chest. The impact sent Stitch flying through the air, finally crashing head first into a row of hedges. Kioko gave a satisfied smile as he watched Stitch stop half way through the hedges, so his head was on one side and his butt the other. Kioko lifted the staff and rested it on his shoulder, but suddenly the sound of a bike bell caught his ear. He looked back to see the boy riding away down the street. Kioko got another evil grin as he knelt down and picked up a rather large stone. The pirate took one step back before hurling the stone toward the boy, hitting him square in the back, and knocking him off his bike.

Kioko gave another satisfied smile before turning and walking away. A little while later the kids had nearly completed the entire Trick or Treating route. They had stopped by Victoria's house but luckily for Kioko she wasn't home. They had passed by Mertle's house but not before Stitch popped the tires on the girls' car. They were now moving on to the last house on the street. Kioko and Stitch were close behind the kids as they ran up the pathway toward the front door. The house seemed rather run down, the yard was full of weeds and the house was in desperate need of a new paint job. How ever a shiny new Corvette sat in the cracked drive way.

However the kids eagerly bounded up to the front door, followed close behind by their Father and Uncle. Oki happily knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Kioko and Stitch both turned away and leaned on some rickety railings, expecting the house to be the same as the others. After a moment grumbling and mumbling could be heard on the other side of the door. The doors lock clicked and quickly opened, revealing a large man. He was wearing a mustard stained t-shirt that was unable to cover his beer gut that slid out from under it. His face was covered in stubble and he was almost completely bald.

"Yeah, what do you want?" asked the man harshly.

"Trick or Treat!" shouted the kids in unison as they held out their bags.

The man stared at the three children for a moment before giving a laugh. "What makes you think I'd give you little skid marks anything?" asked the man as he scratched his rear end. "Now get off my property."

The man turned and slammed the door, leaving the kids still standing there with their bags open. The slamming door and the mans harsh words instantly catch Stitch and Kioko's ears. The two of them quickly turn toward the kids, who instantly break into tears. Stitch instantly rushed over to comfort his children, gathering them around him and wrapping his arms around all of them the best he could. Kioko at the same time stormed up to the door and pounded his fist onto it, nearly knocking it off its hinges. With in a moment the man opened the door once more.

"What do you want, Tutu boy?" snapped the man.

Kioko felt like ripping the man in two right there and then but with the sound of the kids crying behind him filling his ears, the last thing he wanted to do is make it worse. Kioko clenched his fists and looked the man straight in the eye.

"I demand you give these children some candy now." commanded Kioko in a very stern voice.

The man gave a huff. "I ain't gonna give those little nose bleeds a god damn thing. Now, like I told them… get off of my property."

The man stepped back and attempted to slam the door once again, but before the door could close Kioko reached forward and stopped it in its tracks. The man quickly notices and tries to push the door shut, but he was never going to out muscle Kioko. After a moment he realized he was never going to budge the boys arm and so he quickly opened the door once again.

"Listen, what the hell do you want?" yelled the man angrily.

"We just want you to give these children some candy. If you do we'll be on our way." said Kioko.

"Well as I said before I ain't given them nothing!"

Kioko finally began losing his calm exterior. "Listen you wretched, pathetic excuse for a human. We have had a long, rough night. And I think you can imagine why," growled Kioko as he grabbed his skirt. At the same time Stitch stepped up next to Kioko, leaving the kids still sniffling behind him. "So we are in no mood to deal with this sort of thing. And I don't think you want to push either of us; that is unless you want to end up as a stain on the floor. Now just give those kids some candy and we won't have problems."

The man seemed a little frightened by the boys words even though the boy was wearing a dress. But the man didn't let on that he was a little frightened. "Hmm… let me think about it," started the man as he scratched his chin. "No!" screamed the man.

The man stepped back once again and slammed the door in Kioko's face. The pirate gave a sigh a she lowered his head and lightly bit his lower lip. In an instant Kioko's eyes shot open and his leg shot forward. In the blink of an eye Kioko kicked the door open, snapping it in half and nearly sending it across the room.

"Hey, what the hell?" screamed the man as Kioko slowly walked in side, followed by an angry Stitch. "Get the hell out of my house before I call the cops!" continued the man.

The kids looked on curiously through teary eyes as their Uncle and Father disappeared inside. Suddenly Stitch sticks his head out of the door way, with a big grin on his face. "Hey kids, don't tell your Mother or Lilo or anyone else about what me and your uncle do here tonight, ok?" grinned Stitch. The kids all give slow nods of agreement. "Good." Smiled stitch before ducking back inside the house.

The kids all perked up their ears to try and hear what was going on inside the house. But what they heard didn't take super hearing to hear clearly.

"Hey, what are you two doing?" came the mans voice, sounding nervous. "What are you doing with that couch? How can you even lift that like that?"

The kids all suddenly wince as the sound of crashing and snapping, screaming and yelling fill the air. They could hear their Uncle and Father shouting angrily as the man yelled painfully. "No, that doesn't bend that way!" came the mans voice once again, followed by a painful snapping noise. The whole house seemed to shake as the painful sounds continued. "Hey, where'd those claws come from?" came the mans voice once again. This time followed by a painful yell. After awhile the kids all covered their ears from the sounds.

Finally they felt the shaking stop. They took their paws away from their ears and listened for some sound, but as they perked their ears up their Uncle came out of the house. Looking satisfied as he briskly slapped his hands together.

"That'll teach him to mess with my nephews." smiled Kioko as he looked down at the kids. "Are you coming, Stitch?" called Kioko as he looked back toward the house.

"I'll be right there!" replied Stitch as he stood in front of the beaten man. The man was now lying on the floor with a snapped sofa on top of him as well as a recliner and TV. He had numerous scratches and bruises on his face as well. Stitch looked back over his shoulder at the man, the experiment got down on all fours and scratched the ground with his back legs, kicking up a cloud of dust into the mans face.

Stitch quickly got back onto his hind legs and ran across the room to a small table with a bowl of candy on it. "We'll be taking these." blurted Stitch as he grabbed the bowl. "I hope you learned your lesson." growled Stitch, getting a moan from the man. Stitch then turned and ran out the door, carrying the bowl in his arms.

Stitch quickly handed the candy over to the kids, who split it up evenly. The group quickly got under way, but as they passed the drive way Kioko got an evil smirk on his face. The pirate looked over at the mans corvette and back toward Stitch, who also had an evil smirk.

"What do you say we leave one last wound?" asked Kioko.

"Good idea." smiled stitch as he ran over to the car.

The blue experiment scrambled under the car and a moment later lifted it up above his head. "Alright Stitch, pull!" shouted Kioko.

Stitch instantly threw the sports car high into the air as Kioko raised two fingers and formed a small yellow orb of energy at the tip. Kioko made a quick sweeping motion, sending a whip like string of energy toward the car. The energy slices through the car like a hot knife through butter and a moment later the car crashed to the ground. The once clean and well kept sports car was now just four chunks of useless metal. Both Kioko and Stitch smiled happily as they walked away from the smoldering wreck.

The rest of the night sailed by rather smoothly, the kids hit a few more houses before deciding it was quitting time. The five weary travelers quickly returned home to relax. It wasn't long before the kids were sitting on the living room floor, counting up their sugary bounty. The rest of the family was sitting around, happily watching the kids enjoy their treats. Kioko, Angel, Stitch and Lilo were all crammed on the couch. Lilo and Stitch were at either end, Kioko, who was now back in his regular outfit, was next to Lilo and Angel was next to Stitch.

"So, did you two enjoy your little night of bonding?" asked Angel with a sly smile.

"Not all of it, no." replied Kioko flatly.

"But we did find something to help us get along. Something we have in common." smiled stitch as he looked down at the kids.

"You two are just such good guys, you know that?" said Lilo with a smile of her own.

"Oh come on Lilo, are you trying to insult me?" asked Kioko jokingly.

"I must say I'm proud of the both of you," smiled Angel as she wrapped one arm around Stitch's neck and the other around Kioko's arm. "Even though I forced you into this, you still managed to make the best of it." grinned Angel as she hugged the two of them. "And I'm surprised my little prank didn't ruin it." finished Angel still hugging the two men.

"Yeah… about that…" started Kioko as he and Stitch looked at each other. "Stitch where did you say she was ticklish?" grinned Kioko.

"That would be under the arms, on the stomach and around the neck." grinned Stitch.

"Oh good." Said Kioko as he looked down at Angel evilly.

The pink experiment quickly released her grip on the two. "Oh no you don't!" shouted Angel as she tried to run, knowing full well what was coming.

But she was not quick enough and Kioko and Stitch both grabbed her as she tried to run. "You're not going any where little missy, this is pay back!" shouted Kioko enthusiastically.

"After all, all's fair in love, war and pranks!" added Stitch.

The two of them quickly began a relentless tickling assault on poor Angel. The room filled with laughter as the attack continued. The night had been long but, it was certainly a rememberable Halloween.

**Well that's the end of this chapter and this Holiday. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please Review. Unfortunately school starts up again on Wednesday so updates will be a little slower.**

**P.S. If any of you were at all or in any way offended by Kioko hitting the… boy with the rock. I apologize.**


	3. Thanksgiving

Holiday's

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 3: Thanksgiving

The candy from Halloween hadn't lasted the kids more then a couple of days and so there was virtually no trace of the past holiday. But now another holiday was upon the family, Thanksgiving. A slightly less chaotic holiday compared to the others but still not exactly calm. The kitchen was the scene of the chaos this time around. The entire family was bustling around the kitchen preparing the feast for the evening. Each was handling one dish for dinner.

Lilo was mashing some sweet potatoes, Nani was checking the turkey, Angel was preparing some green beans and the kids were shucking corn. Pleakley had been given the simple task of warming up the dinner rolls, but he was having trouble with even that simple job. Jumba was sitting at the kitchen table, having been exiled from cooking, watching Pleakly fumble with a small toaster oven that sat on the counter. The noodly alien gingerly opened the small oven and pulled out what were supposed to be rolls. But instead of the light fluffy rolls that had been put into the oven, mounds of chard, black material sat on the baking sheet.

"The delicious rolls are done and ready for enjoyment!" exclaimed Pleakly as he set the backing sheet down on the counter.

Every one in the kitchen looked over at the wiry alien with disappointed yet unsurprised looks. "Well Pleakly, they look… great." said Lilo with a forced smile.

"Yeah, they look… even darker then the last batch." added Nani.

"Oh I guarantee that they are more then just darker, their even more crunchy then the last batch." grinned Pleakly with a triumphant tone to his voice.

"Great." smiled Lilo as she covertly elbowed Angel in the arm. "Isn't that great, Angel?" finished Lilo with a fake grin and a wink of an eye.

Angel instantly picked up on the girls hint. "Oh… right, yes that's great," smiled Angel as she looked over at the kids who were playing with the left over corn husks. "Kina, why don't you take your uncle Pleakly's great rolls to the dining room table?"

Angel gave a wink as Kina looked up at her. Kina quickly crawls out from under the table and grabs the tray of rolls. "Ok, Mommy." replies Kina as he turns and runs out of the kitchen with the rolls.

"Be careful with those now, we don't want them ruined!" called Pleakly a little worried.

"Don't worry, Uncle Pleakly!" replied Kina. "Their in good paws."

Pleakly gave a satisfied nod, not knowing the fate of his rolls. Kina quickly runs out the back door and over to the small cliff next to the house. With a joyous smile the boy dumped the annihilated rolls over the edge, watching as they disappeared into the foliage below. "Good bye rolls of doom." laughed Kina before turning and running back toward the house.

A short while later every one in the kitchen decided that it was time for a break. Everyone slowly made their way into the living room, where Stitch was already sitting with the phone to his ear. Every one sat down quietly as Stitch tapped his claw impatiently on the arm of the couch.

"Come on, pick up already." growled Stitch, a little annoyed.

Suddenly there was a click on the other end of the line and soon a familiar voice came through. "Hello, this is Pops Bistro, 625 speaking."

"Hey there, 625. How's it going?" greeted Stitch with a small smile.

625 gave what sounded like an annoyed sigh. "I told you before we don't deliver, Cuz."

"Well excuse me Mr. Working experiment, but that's not why I called."

"Then why did you call?"

"Listen, its Thanksgiving and we just wanted to know if you wanted to come over for dinner."

625 gave a small laugh. "You're actually inviting me over?"

"Of course." said Stitch with a grin. "So do you want to come over?"

There was a short pause on the other end of the line followed by a soft sigh. "Listen, Cuz. I really appreciate the invite but… I'm having dinner with the shop owner and his wife tonight. So thanks but, I'm with my Ohana tonight."

Stitch's grin dimmed down to a small smile. "We're your Ohana too you know."

"I know." replied 625 happily.

"Well then, some other time."

"Yeah."

"So I'll talk to you later. I'll let you get back to those sandwiches of yours."

"Yeah, talk to you later"

"Wait, one more thing." blurted Stitch.

"What is it?" asked 625 curiously.

"You guys really should consider delivery service."

625 gave a frustrated growl. "Good bye, Cuz."

Before Stitch could say anything the line clicked and went silent. Stitch gave a small laugh as he set the phone down on the couch next to him. As he did Angel leapt up next to him. "So, is he coming?" asked Angel.

"Nah, he's having dinner with the shop owner." replied Stitch as he leaned back into the couch cushion.

"I think I did a good job with his 'one true place.'" smiled Lilo.

"No offense Lilo, but… it wasn't too hard to figure out where he'd like to be." said Nani as he looked across the room at her sister.

Lilo just gave her sister a dirty look and shrugged her shoulders. Nani gave a small sigh as she looked at her sister. Suddenly the kids all perked up their ears and looked around the room. "Hey, where's Uncle Kioko?" asked Kina a little bit worried.

"He's coming over isn't he?" added Ashley.

"Yeah, he was supposed to be over here three hours ago. Where the heck could he be?" asked Nani angrily.

"Kioko's never on time to these sorts of things. So it shouldn't surprise you too much." sighed Angel as she gently stroked her antenna.

"Well he better get here soon, or else no Turkey for him." growled Nani.

Suddenly there came a knock at the door and once again every one gave a sigh. Nani quickly got up and walked over to the door, opening it quickly she revealed Kioko, who was standing there with an innocent grin on his face.

"Sorry I'm late. Hope I haven't missed anything." grinned Kioko as he walked into the room.

"He's always doing that too." blurted Angel.

The pirate walked in and sat down in a vacant chair in the corner of the room as Nani closed the door and sat back down. "So, would you mind explaining yourself? You're three hours late!" shouted Nani as she looked over at Kioko who was reclining in the small chair.

Kioko gave a shrug as he reached into his coat. "I had a hard time finding this little baby." said Kioko as he pulled out a small bottle, filled with a golden liquid.

Nani's eyes narrowed as she watched the pirate open the bottle and take a deep swig from it. "That's not what I think it is, is it?" asked Nani suspiciously.

Kioko gave a refreshed sigh as he screwed the cap of the bottle back on. "If you're thinking that this is by far thee best liquor in all the universe then… you'd be right." grinned Kioko.

"You brought alcohol! Kioko, you know I don't allow drinking in this house!" screamed Nani angrily.

Kioko looked over at the girl like she was crazy. "Nani, a pirate who doesn't drink… is like an experiment without a number…they just don't exist."

Nani clenched her teeth and stood up, ready to yell her head off. But Lilo quickly stood up as well and stepped in front of her sister. "Nani let it go." said Lilo calmly.

Surprisingly Nani listened and she quietly sat back down, as did Lilo. The room was silent for a few moments as every one looked around trying to find something to talk about. Finally Kioko managed to think of a topic.

"So Angel, think you'll be able to let us have some of the food this year?" asked Kioko with a small grin.

Angel looked over at the pirate with a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

Every one in the room except the kids gave a laugh in some way shape or form. "Don't you remember? Last Thanksgiving you were still pregnant. And your appetite was proof of that." said Kioko with a sly smile.

"Yeah, last year it was a race to eat what ever you could before Angel got to it." smiled Lilo.

"I couldn't have been that bad." defended Angel as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Angel, if Stitch hadn't been there you would have swallowed the turkey whole." laughed Lilo.

Stitch gave a sigh as he rubbed his head. "I'm so glad that those six months are behind us. I couldn't take another month of that."

Angel gave a slightly embarrassed huff. "I still don't believe that I was that bad. I mean it's not like I hurt anyone."

"Yeah you did!" shouted Stitch with a small laugh.

"Yes, you were to be giving 6-2-6 many a boo-boo." blurted Jumba.

"And it was mostly because of your mood swings." added Kioko.

**FLASHBACK**

It was early morning, the sun was bright and the day seemed like it would be a good one. Stitch and Angel were both waking, smiling at each other as their eyes came into focus. "Good morning." smiled Stitch.

"Good morning." smiled Angel.

Stitch scooted out from under the covers and sat up on the bed, helping Angel do the same. Her stomach was quite large at this point and she now had trouble moving at times. The two of them each took a deep breathe, taking in the smell of breakfast being cooked below. Lilo wasn't in the room so she was probably already down stairs. After a moment Stitch looked over at his mate with his smile still on his face.

"So, you hungry?" asked Stitch sarcastically.

Angel gave a nod as she rubbed her stomach gently. "You bet, since I'm eating for four now."

Stitch gave a short laugh as he hopped off the bed and onto the floor. "So, how about after breakfast we go out for a little walk? So you can get a little exercise." said Stitch as he looked back up at Angel.

The pink furred experiments warm smile instantly dropped to a frown and then to a look of anger. "What is that supposed to mean? Do you think I'm fat?" screamed Angel angrily.

Stitch gave a startled gasp, being taken off guard by the females sudden mood swing. He began to laugh nervously as he fumbled to find some words. "No, I don't think you're fat. Well you're pregnant so… you are a little uh… big." said Stitch finishing with a toothy grin.

That snapped it; Angel gave an angry yell and quickly grabbed the pillows off the bed. She proceeded to chuck them at Stitch as hard as she could. Stitch easily avoided the pillows, but he was grateful though that they were just pillows. Stitch gave a relieved sigh, knowing that besides blankets, pillows were the only things on the bed to throw. Stitch looked back up at Angel, giving a gasp as he found Angel holding a large wrench in her paws. Stitch's heart sank as he soon realized that he had one of Jumba's tool kits stashed under the mattress. With another yell Angel flung the heavy tool toward Stitch. The blue experiment narrowly avoided it as it ricocheted off the ground at his feet.

Angel began pulling tool after tool out from under the bed and hurling them at poor Stitch. The frightened experiment slowly began backing up toward the lift platform, dodging everything from hammers, wrenches and screwdrivers to a variety of gruesome looking alien tools. Suddenly Stitch's heels dropped out from under him, nearly causing him to tumble down the elevator shaft. Stitch waved his arms frantically, getting his balance back, he finally did.

"Angel, honey, calm down," said Stitch with a shaky voice. "I didn't mean to call you fat."

"So you admit it! You think I'm fat!" screamed Angel as she pulled out another hammer.

"No, I didn't say…"

Stitch had no time to explain as Angel threw the hammer straight at him. Stitch couldn't avoid it this time and the tool slammed into his face, causing him to lose his balance and fall down the lift shaft. There was a heavy thud as Stitch landed on his head on the floor below. But because he was the "indestructible" Stitch he quickly sat back up with a groan. "Mood swings?" asked Kioko as he looked over at the experiment, who now had a small amount of blood running from his nose.

Stitch looked over at the pirate; Kioko was leaning on the wall between the kitchen doorway and the lift shaft with one foot planted on the wall and his hands in his pockets. "You have no idea." moaned Stitch with a sour expression.

Suddenly a single wrench falls down through the shaft and lands directly on Stitch's head. Kioko winced as a dazed look swept over Stitch's face. After a moment Stitch fell forward onto his face, unconscious.

**END FLASHBACK**

"I was not that bad!" shouted Angel, determined to defend herself.

Stitch gave an amused laugh as he wrapped one arm around Angel's shoulders. "I'm sorry dear, but you were."

"To tell you the truth, the mood swings didn't bother me much," blurted Nani.

Lilo gave a light chuckle. "Yeah, it was when you had those job interviews that she got to you."

**FLASHBACK**

"Lilo, your experiments' been in the bathroom for hours! I need to get to my job interview!" screamed Nani as she impatiently tapped her foot outside of the bathroom door.

It was yet another morning in the pelekai household and Angel was once again causing problems. "So, you can be a little late can't you?" asked Lilo as she walked over to her sister.

"No, that's the one thing I can't be!" shouted Nani as she turned and made a grab for the door knob.

Lilo quickly grabs her sister's hand by the wrist and pulls it away from the door. "No, you can't go in there yet!"

"Why not?" asked Nani angrily.

"You know Angel's pregnant." said Lilo as she furrowed her brow.

"So what?"

Lilo gave a sigh and slowly leaned in closer to her sister. "So she's got… morning sickness." whispered Lilo. "She probably won't be out of there for another hour."

Nani pulled away and looked at her sister like she had just said the stupidest thing ever. "This is why I don't like experiments in the house," screamed Nani as a look of anger swept over her. "Now I'm going to be late and I'm not going to make a good impression and they aren't going to hire me!"

Just then Stitch came down on the lift and proceeded to walk past the two sisters and toward the kitchen. But Nani quickly noticed him and raised her angry finger toward him. "I blame you for this!" screamed Nani, causing the experiment to stop dead in his tracks. "Why do you always have to get into things and screw things up for the rest of us?"

Nani gave a frustrated yell and soon stormed off down the hall and back to her room. Leaving Lilo and Stitch with confused looks on their faces. "Did she just yell at me for…" started Stitch.

"I think its best we don't read anything into It." finished Lilo.

**END FLASHBACK**

"6-2-4 would not have been in lavatory for so long if she were to have controlled her late night snackings better." chimed Jumba.

"Late night snacking?" repeated Stitch as he looked at Angel curiously.

"I remember that too!" shouted Nani. "I thought Stitch was a voracious eater until I saw her in action."

**FLASHBACK**

It was late at night and the house was dark except for the moon light shining through the windows. But things were not completely quiet around the house. Nani noisily stumbled out of her room, feeling her way along the walls as her eyes attempted to adjust to the dark. Her hair was messy and her eyes barely hung open. She had been awakened by the sound of glass jars being moved about and the sound of crunching and smacking. She gave a tired and slightly irritated groan as she felt her way to the kitchen. She quickly found the doorway and looked into the kitchen. The room was lit by the yellowish glow of the refrigerator and the moon light coming through the window above the sink.

Nani's eyes quickly fell downwards, expecting to see Stitch rummaging for a late night snack. The older girl quickly opened her mouth, ready to yell at the experiment but quickly shut again as she began making out pink fur. It was still hard to make out even with the fridge light, colors didn't always look right. But Nani's curiosity was soon satisfied as the experiment stepped back from the fridge, revealing themselves. To Nani's shock Angel appeared as she stepped back. The pink experiment made purring sounds as she held a bucket of KFC chicken under her arm.

"Ooh, I love you, Colonel," moaned Angel as she took a chicken leg out of the bucket and sniffed it gently. "You're so good to me."

Nani jumped as the pink experiment began shoving chicken wings and legs into her mouth, ravenously chewing away at the meat and bone, not caring about the meat falling out of her mouth. Nani was left in awe as Angel quickly finished off all but one chicken breast. Angel gave a satisfied sigh as she eyed up the last piece of chicken. But she suddenly noticed Nani standing in the door way and quickly turns to face the older girl. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, while Angel slowly licked the grease off of her paw. Finally the stand off was broken as a look of urgency and nervousness appeared on Angel's face.

"My chicken! You can't have any! Stay away, the Colonel is mine, mine I tell you!" screamed Angel.

The pink experiment quickly grabbed the last chicken breast, dropped the bucket and darted out of the kitchen and into the darkened living room. Leaving Nani with a shocked expression still on her face.

**END FLASHBACK.**

Angel now had her paw over her eyes and a pout on her lips. Her cheeks were blushing brightly as every one around her gave small chuckles. Stitch gave Angel a loving squeeze and a quick kiss on the cheek with a proud grin on his face.

"I think I just fell in love with you all over again. I didn't know you ate chicken like that?" grinned Stitch.

"It was once, just once!" moaned Angel as she raised one paw in the air, keeping the other still on her eyes.

Nani gave a laugh as she leaned back in her chair. "It was more then once, Angel."

"I was pregnant, you can't blame me!" shouted Angel with her paw still in place.

"Oh no, you're right," blurted Kioko after taking another swig of the golden liquid. "We can't blame you for those things. Just like we can't blame you for the six months of almost nonstop, uncontrollable gas."

Angel's paw finally snapped away from her face as she glared over at the pirate with disbelief. "You are all so mean!" shouted Angel sounding like she was about to cry.

The pink experiment pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them and hid her face in her knees. Nearly every one in the room gave an "Aww" of sympathy as they looked upon the poor little Angel. Stitch was of course the first to try and comfort Angel, moving his paw down to her back he slowly began to stroke her back.

"Ah, come on Angel. Now you know we weren't trying to be mean." comforted Stitch as he leaned in to her ear. "We were just having fun, laughing at past events. I mean you have to have found some of that at least a little funny?"

"No!" snapped Angel, her voice muffled.

"What about when your hormones were just kicking into high gear and you began talking in your sleep?" asked Stitch, getting a moan from his mate. "When you did that I was the one who didn't get any sleep. Especially on the first night that you did it."

**FLASHBACK**

It was yet another peaceful night in the pelekai house hold. Lilo, Stitch and Angel were all sleeping soundly up in their tiny dome room but the peace was soon to be ended. Angel was just starting to show her pregnancy, her stomach just starting to bulge. Angel was closest to the window, with Stitch on the outside edge of the rather small bed. Stitch was on his side facing Angel, who was laying on her back. Stitch had the covers pulled up to his shoulders while Angel had it tucked under her arm. The two of them were still except for their gentle breathing. But suddenly, Angel's arm shot across the bed and slammed into Stitch's face.

The blue experiment instantly wakes up with a painful yell, surprisingly not waking either Angel or Lilo. Stitch quickly sat up with a panicked expression on his face, looking around the darkened room trying to locate his attacker. But he soon realized that Lilo and Angel were the only ones in the room besides him. Stitch looked over to Lilo, seeing her sound asleep he looked back over to Angel. He instantly noticed Angel's paw resting right where his face had been. Angel still had a contented smile on her face as she continued to breathe softly.

"Angel, you just punched me in the face." moaned Stitch as he rubbed his nose. After a moment Angel remained asleep. Stitch reached over and gently rocked her back and fourth. "Angel, did you hear me? You just punched me in the face."

Just then Angel gave a pleasant purr and rolled over to face the window, pulling the covers up to her shoulders. She shifted around under the covers, finding a comfortable spot and settling once again into sleep. Stitch stared at her for a moment before giving a shrug and laying back down to sleep.

"Yeah so then I said lets take a bus down town…" blurted Angel suddenly. Stitch once again sat up and looked over at Angel. "Yeah, you, me and John…. And then the eagle took our ham and flew up to the sky, hahahaha, John……… no."

Stitch was starring at Angel, fascinated by what she was doing. Angel once again rolled back over to face Stitch, giving a contented purr as she shifted under the covers. "No, don't do that…. Lemons don't grow on John's forehead." blurted Angel once again, this time with a puckered expression. "Mortgage payment… tax refunds for all hi hoe the dario a hunting we will go. Fish pants." moaned Angel with a strained look.

Stitch continued to stare at her, his mouth slightly ajar. "Uh, Angel… are you ok?" asked Stitch slightly concerned yet still very much amazed. Stitch crawled out from under the covers and crawled over to Angel on his knees. "Angel… are you ok?" repeated Stitch.

Angel was silent for a moment. "Butter bars." said Angel as a contented smile returned to her face.

Suddenly Angel's expression dropped away and was taken over by a look of deep sleep. Stitch cocked his head to the side, completely confused by what Angel had just done. He had never heard some one talk while they were still asleep before. Stitch continued to stand on his knees next to Angel for a few minutes, curious to see if she'd say anything else. But she didn't; Stitch shrugged and was about to turn around and go back to sleep. But Angel's arm once again shot up, this time smacking Stitch right in the groin. Stitch gave a yelp as he bit his lip, holding in a scream of pain that would have surely woken every one.

"Ah choota." choked Stitch before falling backward and off of the bed. Stitch landed with a heavy thud that echoed through the room, yet still neither of the girls were awakened. Angel just gave another contented purr and rolled over.

**END FLASHBACK**

"Well, what about then?" asked Stitch as Angel slowly raised her head up.

"Yeah, that was… pretty funny." smiled Angel with a small sniffle.

"There, you see… those times are nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about." smiled Stitch as he wrapped his arms around Angel, who dropped her knees. "Because after we went through all of that, we were rewarded with three beautiful children." finished Stitch as he nuzzled Angel's cheek lovingly.

Angel looked over at the kids with a bright smile. The kids all smiled back and quickly got up and ran to their Mother. They all jumped up onto the couch and gave Angel a big hug. Stitch pulled away to let them have more room to hug. The most blissful smile crossed Angel's face as she was embraced by her children.

"Now isn't that the sweetest sight." smiled Lilo as she watched Angel gently stroke her children's heads.

"That makes it all worth it, right Angel?" asked Kioko with a small smile.

"You bet it does." smiled Angel softly as she rested her cheek on Kina's head.

The room went silent for a moment before the sound of the oven timer began ringing. "Well, that means the turkey's done. Time to eat!" said Nani as she got up and headed for the kitchen.

Lilo, Jumba and Pleakly all got up and followed close behind. Angel gave her kid's one last hug before sending them to go help Lilo and Nani. Angel gave a sigh as she watched them run off into the kitchen, at the same time Stitch once again scooted next to her. Nuzzling her cheek with a purr of his own.

"You know we love you, right?" asked Stitch affectionately.

Angel looked over at Stitch and gently took his head in her paws. "I know you do, but I just wish you guys hadn't brought up some of that stuff."

"Why, it's not like there's anything you should be embarrassed about." blurted Kioko as he got up and walked over to the two experiments. "What happens to you during pregnancy is nothing you should feel ashamed of, you should be proud of it. Now being forced to wear a dress… that's embarrassing." said Kioko as he placed his hand on Angel's head.

"But something natural like pregnancy… there's no need to be embarrassed, especially since we're all family here." smiled Stitch as he once again wrapped his arm around Angel's shoulder.

Angel smiled warmly as she looked between the two men. Her heart fluttered for a moment as she felt a wave of security flow through her. Angel looked up and motioned for Kioko to come lower. Kioko knelt down to Angel's eye level. Angel reached up and wrapped one arm around both Kioko and Stitch, pulling them close in a light hug.

"If it weren't for you two… I wouldn't have a family." smiled Angel, causing both stitch and Kioko to smile back. "I love both of you so much." finished Angel as she pulled the two closer so that their heads were against her cheeks.

The three stayed like this for a few minutes before being called to dinner by an impatient Nani. Angel couldn't have been happier as Stitch and Kioko basically escorted her to the dining room. Thanksgiving dinner went off with out a hitch. Stitch managed to control his manners and so did the kids, which was a surprise. The conversations were light hearted and full of humor and good times. It was truly a Thanksgiving to remember.

**Well that's the end of this chapter and Holiday. I'm surprised that I managed to fit this all in under 20 pages. Anyway, next up is Christmas. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review.**


	4. Christmas

Holidays

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 4: Christmas

With two holidays in the past the biggest of them all was upon the pelekai family. Christmas was just a few days away and the family had gotten most of their needed shopping done. However a certain little blue experiment was still searching for that one perfect gift to get his buchi boo.

Stitch was sitting on his and Angel's bed, searching meticulously through a mound of magazines that Angel had collected. A majority of the magazines were jewelry magazines; Angel had been dropping numerous hints about her desire for jewelry. Ever since she had been caught wearing Nani and Lilo's necklaces and rings. Now stitch was trying to find her that one perfect thing, that one perfect piece of jewelry. However, that wasn't going so well.

"Oh come on, there's got to be something in here!" moaned Stitch as he tossed aside another magazine. "Nothing seems to fit Angel's personality or beauty for that matter."

Stitch gave a frustrated growl and fell backward onto the bed. Staring up at the ceiling he rubbed his forehead gently. "And it's all so god dang expensive. Lilo said she'd lend me some money for gifts if I needed it but… I doubt she'd lend me 300 plus dollars."

After a few moments of just laying there, hoping for an idea to hit, Stitch sat back up and looked around the room. 'Think Stitch, think. Where can you get jewelry… for little or no money? I could steal a necklace…. No… that wouldn't turn out well. Think!'

Stitch hopped off the bed and began pacing back and fourth. He gave a growl and wiped his paws across his face, pulling down the bottoms of his eye lids slightly. Suddenly an idea hit him, Stitch suddenly perked up and cheery smile formed on his face. "Wait, why bother trying to buy jewelry, when I could get it from some one for free!" shouted Stitch triumphantly.

But the experiment quickly slapped his paws over his mouth. Angel and the rest of the family were right down stairs and seeing as how he can be quite loud it'd be very easy for them to hear him. Stitch quietly shut the bedroom door and scampered toward the window. He slid it open and crawled out, making his way down the side of the house to the drive way. Stitch looked up to see if any one was looking out the living room windows before sprinting off into the forest. Stitch had an excited grin as he sped through the dense tropical foliage trying to make it to his destination in as little time as possible. It was times like these that made him grateful that Jumba had given him super speed.

With in just a few minutes Stitch was across the island and standing in front of Kioko's house. If anyone had good jewelry it would be him, since he was a pirate. Stitch slowly waddled up to the door, still trying to catch his breathe, and knocked on it rather loudly. Suddenly the door swung open, catching Stitch off guard and causing him to jump slightly. Stitch carefully made his way into the house, he was always cautious when entering Kioko's house for some reason. The place always made him feel like he was going to be ambushed. Which he had been on a few occasions, but this time he was lucky to avoid it. The house was almost completely empty, only some essential things were left out. Boxes lined the walls as well as a few bags. Stitch made his way into the center of the house and began calling out Kioko's name.

After a moment the pirate came around the corner, dressed in nothing but a pair of black shorts. Kioko had a towel in his hand that he was using to dry his hair; he had obviously just gotten out of the shower. "What do you want, Stitch?" growled Kioko, sounding a little annoyed.

"I have a question for you, well more of a request." grinned Stitch.

Kioko raised an eye brow curiously. "Yeah, what is it?"

Stitch's posture suddenly changed, his paws went behind his back and clasped together, his feet began shuffling around and his head dropped slightly. "Well, since Christmas is only a couple days away and I'm a little pressed for time on a few gifts… I was wondering if you could help me?" asked Stitch, trying to be adorable for some reason.

"How exactly am I supposed to help you?"

"Well you just need to help me with one gift, a gift for a certain pink experiment that me and you both know very well."

Kioko tossed the towel he had onto the kitchen counter. "Ok… go on."

"Well, lately she's been bugging me and giving me hints that she wants some jewelry, but all the jewelry I've seen is way to pricy and none of it seems to fit her."

Kioko gave a sigh leaned against the counter, folding his arms over his chest as well. "And you want to know if I could give you a necklace to give to Angel, right?"

"Uh huh! So will you do it?" asked Stitch with a large grin.

Kioko just stared at Stitch for a moment before turning and walking down a near by hallway. The pirate stopped at a door half way down and quickly opened it. "Just wait one moment." ordered Kioko before descending down a set of stairs.

Stitch looked on curiously waiting for Kioko to reemerge. A few minutes went by before Stitch heard foot steps coming back up the stairs. A second later Kioko reappeared carrying a large metal crate on his shoulder. The pirate carried it back into the kitchen and set it down in front of Stitch. Kioko kneeled down in front of it and unlatched the crates cover.

"In here you should find something that will suit her." said Kioko before slowly lifting up the lid of the crate.

Stitch gave a confused look as he saw a metal plate covering what was in the crate. Even more confusing was that there was an old looking piece of paper sitting on top of it. Stitch looked up at Kioko to find out what it was but Kioko had the same confused look on his face. "Now what in the hell is this?" asked Kioko to himself as he picked up the extremely old looking piece of paper.

The paper was a tan-nish brown; its edges were tattered and seemed to be crumbling into dust. Kioko carefully unfolded the piece of paper revealing its rather long length. The two of them could see that there was writing on it but it was almost completely faded away. Only a few words at the top were legible: "We the people"

Kioko snapped his fingers in realization, giving a small chuckle as he looked at the paper. "I know what this is now; it's the rough copy of the Declaration of Independence." said Kioko amusingly.

Stitch's jaw dropped, he remembered reading in one of Lilo's old school books about the Declaration of Independence and how important it was. But what in the world was Kioko doing with a rough copy of it. "The… The… The declaration of Independence?" shouted Stitch.

"Yeah, I wonder how that got in there. Oh well." Said Kioko as he crumpled the old paper up and tossed it over his shoulder.

Stitch was in shock, his mouth frozen open and his eyes wide as he watched the paper land on the floor. But as Stitch stared in disbelief at the paper Kioko reached into the crate and removed the metal cover, setting it down next to him. The pirate looked over at Stitch who was still in shock.

"Well don't just stand there, come on over and take your pick."

Stitch finally snapped to and looked back over at the crate. He slowly walked over and looked down into the crate; his eyes were lit up by the brilliant glow of hundreds of jewels and necklaces. Stitch's jaw once again dropped slightly as he looked upon the rainbow of gold's, red, blue, purples and every other color imaginable. He was speechless as he looked over that amazing assortment of priceless jewelry.

"You mean… I can have any one of these?" asked Stitch.

"Well just remember, what ever you choose isn't for you, it's for Angel."

"Right, of course. Now let me see here…"

Stitch began looking through the crate, gently pushing aside all the jewels and necklaces. Soon though he started to become discouraged, once again none of the necklaces or anything for that matter seemed to match Angel's beauty. None of them seemed to fit her personality; Stitch was about to give up but as he pushed aside another set of jewels something caught his eye. Stitch grabbed it and slowly lifted it away from the rest of the jewels, revealing a beautiful pendant necklace. It had sparkling golden chain with a rather large ornament hanging from it. It was round with a blue and pink stone in the center. The colors spiraled around each other, flowing gracefully around a small clear crystal in the center.

Stitch lifted the pendant completely out of the box and held it up to the light. The light made the blue and pink seem lighter and the clear crystal in the center cast a rainbow on Stitch's face. A joyful smile formed on Stitch's face as he brought the pendant back down.

"Is that the one?" asked Kioko with a small smile.

"You bet it is!" shouted Stitch cheerfully.

"I must admit that is a very nice choice. The pendant you hold in your hands right now is made from a very rare element, only found in the cores of dead stars, more commonly white dwarf stars. If you sold that you could easily buy this planet from the Galactic Federation and still have change left over."

"Whoa, really?"

"Yes, really. Also because it's from the center of a white dwarf, where as you know the gravity is indescribably strong, that jewel is also indescribably resilient."

"Angel is going to love this." grinned Stitch.

"Well take it, it's yours."

Stitch clenched his fist around the pendant excitedly. The experiment gave a small laugh, turned and leapt onto the pirate. "Oh thank you so much, Kioko. You saved my rear end!" cheered Stitch as he hugged Kioko around the neck, taking the pirate by surprise.

Kioko gave a small growl as Stitch began purring and rubbing his head against Kioko's cheek. "I'll give you three seconds to let go of me… one… two…"

Stitch quickly released his grip and hopped to the ground with a big grin. "Well, thanks again, Kioko."

"Yeah, what ever. Now I suggest you get home before Angel realizes you're gone."

Stitch gave a nod and bolted for the door. Kioko gave small huff as he watched the experiment disappear out of sight. Stitch seemed to run even faster then before now, the trees were literally blurs as he sped past them. The pendant clasped tightly in his paw, he could feel its strength. Kioko wasn't lying, what ever Stitch held in his paws always felt so fragile to him but this… this felt incredibly solid. He could have sworn that it was taunting him, daring him to try and break it and if it weren't a gift for his mate he probably would have tried.

In just a few minutes Stitch was once again outside the house. He leapt onto the side and quickly crawled back up to their bedroom window. The blue experiment peaked into the room, checking to see of anyone was around before slipping in. 'Now, where to hide this for now?' thought Stitch as he looked around the room.

As he had found out on a few previous occasions, Angel was a bit of a snoop when it came to stuff like this. So he had to find a good hiding place. "Maybe I could have Lilo hide it in her room?" thought Stitch aloud to himself. "No, she can't keep secrets worth a darn. I mean all I asked her was to not tell Angel about the licorice bikini I had bought her but no… she had to go and spill the beans." growled Stitch loosing sight of the goal at hand for a moment.

Stitch quickly shook his head, clearing his mind of past disappointments. He once again began looking around their room for a hiding spot. Suddenly the ceiling fan above their bed caught Stitch's eye. "Bingo!" shouted Stitch as he jumped up to the ceiling.

He quickly walked over, upside down, to the fan and yanked it gently away from the ceiling. Stealthily Stitch placed the pendant in the hole above the fan, hiding it above the ceiling. He then pushed the fan back up into position and gave a satisfied smile.

"Stitch, what are you doing up there?" shouted a voice from the bedroom doorway.

Stitch gave a startled yell as he lost his grip on the ceiling and fell to the bed below, bouncing off and then landing face first on the floor. He wasn't down three seconds before Stitch quickly scrambled to his feet. He looked up toward the doorway to see Angel looking at him confusedly.

"Oh, honey, Angel…. hi there." grinned Stitch as he rubbed the back of his head.

Angel had a highly confused look on her face as she looked Stitch up and down. "What were you doing up there?" asked Angel.

"Up where? Oh up there, on the ceiling place! Well I was just uh… changing the light bulb on the fan."

"But Jumba changed the bulb yesterday."

"Well it uh… it uh… I ate it." blurted Stitch trying to find someway out of this mess.

Angel raised an eyebrow, folded her arms over her chest and popped her hip out to the side. "You ate it?"

"Yes, I ate the bulb."

The two of them just stared at each other for a few moments. Stitch began to feel a little warm under the collar so too speak, praying that she would buy his story. After all it wasn't too terribly far fetched. A whole 3 minutes had suddenly passed with the two of them still just staring at each other. Angel's gaze seemed unblinking as Stitch was now trying not to shake form nervousness. Finally Angel gave a sigh and turned away, allowing Stitch to give a heavy sigh of relief.

"Well I hope you didn't spoil your dinner with all that fluorescents, come on ham ball its dinner time." called Angel as she turned down the hallway.

"Right, coming Angel." smiled Stitch as he followed close behind.

**Well that's the end of this chapter. This is the first time I've ever written a chapter that was under 15 pages! I was going to make a dinner scene but it just didn't sound right. But don't worry the next chapter will be longer. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter though. Please review.**


	5. Christmas part 2

Holidays

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 5: Christmas part 2

With Christmas eve finally upon the family things were growing more hectic by the moment. The morning had been spent putting up the Christmas tree and putting up the Christmas lights outside. The kids were now sitting in front of the TV watching a Christmas special, Nani was in the kitchen cleaning things up, Jumba and Pleakly were in their room wrapping gifts for tomorrow, Angel was in her and Stitch's room doing the same, not knowing that her gift was right above her head. Lilo was leaning next to the front door carefully looking over a check list of who had bought gifts and who hadn't.

She gave an interested huff as she noticed an absent space next to Stitch's name. "Stitch, come here please!" yelled Lilo.

"Yes, Lilo?" answered Stitch, suddenly poking his head in through the doggy door.

"Oh, there you are. It looks like you haven't gotten Jumba a gift yet."

"Yeah, I still need too. But what do you get an evil genius scientist?" asked Stitch.

"I don't know."

"Well what did you get him?"

Lilo paused and seemed to think about her answer, but finally she gave a small sigh. "A gift certificate to Olive Garden."

Stitch looked at her with a confused and dumbfounded look. "Why?"

"It was… a spur of the moment thing. Besides you know he likes the breadsticks." Stitch gave a shrug and looked away. "So, why don't we go into town and look for something. We can grab lunch while we're out too."

Stitch looked up at Lilo and gave a nod. A few minutes later the two of them set out for town, exchanging gift ideas as they went. Eventually they made it into town and began their search. They spent four hours wondering the streets of Kokoua town searching for someplace that would have something Jumba would like. Finally they found someplace that had something Jumba could at least find useful.

"I cannot believe you're getting him a heated back massager." sighed Lilo as her and Stitch walked out of the Sharper image store.

Stitch gave a huff. It's a good gift, I'm sure Jumba will appreciate its four different modes and range of temperatures." said Stitch sounding like an advertisement.

Lilo put her hand over her mouth and gave a small giggle. "If you say so, Stitch." The blue experiment just looked up at his friend with a smile of his own. Suddenly Lilo's stomach gave a low grumble, causing the girl to blush slightly. "Come on, Stitch. Let's go grab something to eat."

"Right!" smiled Stitch as he followed his friend down the street.

It wasn't long before the two of them came upon a small corner bistro with a few small tables sitting outside with umbrellas hanging over them. It was a quaint little family owned place, where a certain tubby, tan friend of theirs was now working. Lilo and Stitch walked in and instantly saw 625 standing on a stool behind a long counter in the back of the store. He was wearing a small white hat, with a long apron draped around his neck.

"Hey there, 625!" greeted Lilo, waving her hand in the air as she walked in.

"Oh, hey there, Lilo." blurted 625 as he finished packing customers sandwiches into a bag.

The customer took the bag and smiled Lilo and Stitch both walked up to the counter as the customer walked away. "How's it going, 625?" asked Stitch as he crawled up onto the counter.

625 gave Stitch dirty look as he raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, it all depends. Are you going to gulp down all the lunch meat in the trays again?"

"Uhhh, no."

"Then things are going great." said 625 with a small smirk. "So, I'm guessing you two are here for something to eat?"

"Why else would we come to a bistro?" smiled Lilo as she leaned forward on the counter.

"Well you could just stop by to say 'hello', you are allowed to do that you know."

"Oh well, we don't want to keep you from your work. Don't want you getting in trouble you know."

"Oh it's ok, we're never too terribly busy anyway. Matter of fact Slushy stopped by earlier today, we talked for almost 3 hours. Since we're both in the food service industry we had a lot to talk about."

"Well that's good. " said Lilo with a warm smile.

"Could we order already, please. I'm starving here." moaned Stitch as he flopped forward on the counter.

"Stitch, that's not polite!" scolded Lilo.

"It's ok, Lilo." blurted 625 as Stitch gave her a dirty look. "I know he has trouble controlling what comes out of that big mouth of his." grinned 625.

"Hey!" shouted Stitch as he rolled over and looked at 625, who just rolled his eyes.

"So, just the usual for you two?" asked 625.

"Yep, sounds good." smiled Lilo.

625 gave a nod and quickly got to work, as Lilo and Stitch walked over to a small table near by. After a minute or two, 625 came out from behind the counter with two trays in his paws. The chubby, little experiment slid the two trays in front of Lilo and Stitch, slapping his paws together with satisfaction afterwards. "There you go, two of my very best sandwiches."

Lilo gave a small giggle as she picked up and admired 625's handy work. "All of your sandwiches are the very best." said Lilo before taking a good sized bite.

625 smiled back and then looked over at Stitch, who was shoving the sandwich in his mouth. "I see my sandwiches are a hit with you."

Stitch looked towards his cousin, his cheeks bulging with food. "Yeah." Said Stitch with a wide grin, showing off all the bits of sandwich lodged in his teeth.

625 cringed and stuck his tongue out a little. "That's gross, cuz. I'm surprised Angel lets you kiss her with eating habits like that."

Stitch's ears dropped and a muffled growl escaped his throat as he gave 625 a dirty look. "625, why don't you have a seat with us? There's no one else here right now, I think it's safe for you to take a little brake." offered Lilo as she pulled a third chair up to the table.

625 was hesitant but decided he could take a brake. The tan experiment climbed up into the chair that Lilo had positioned between her and Stitch. 625 gave a short yawn, stretched out and reclined back into the chair. Not much was said as Lilo and Stitch finished their sandwiches, but Lilo finally decided to spark a conversation.

"So, how are things here, 625? Are you enjoying your new home?" asked Lilo after wiping her mouth with a napkin.

625 gave a pleasant sigh as his eyes floated around the small bistro. "I must say, Lilo, I love this place. And not just because I'm around sandwiches all day, the owner is a real nice guy and his wife is really sweet to me. She's always spoiling me, rubbing my stomach after I eat, she made me a special blanket with a giant picture of a cheese sandwich on it… she makes me her special family style sandwiches which I must say… are as good if not better then my own."

"Wow, you are spoiled aren't you?" smiled Lilo.

"Yeah, it annoys the owner sometimes how much she spoils me. Heck, at times she treats me like I was her own son. Actually, now that I think about it, they both kinda treat me like I was their child."

"Well that's good, that's how all experiments should be treated. With love and care, to be treated like Ohana."

"I think it's safe to say that all the cousins are very well loved, Lilo." blurted Stitch.

Lilo giggled quietly. "You think I've done a good job at finding their one true place?"

Stitch and 625 looked at each other and then at Lilo. "Why would you think otherwise?" asked Stitch with a warm smile spreading across his furry face.

"Since you've got two prime examples of highly satisfied customers' right here." finished 625 with the same warm smile as Stitch.

Lilo looked between both of them and gave a cheerful "aww". "Thank you guys." smiled Lilo as she wrapped one arm around each of them and gave them a light hug.

After a moment Lilo released the two experiments from the hug and they all sat back in their chairs. Another moment of silence followed as they all casually glanced around the small bistro. Finally yet another conversation was sparked by Lilo.

"So, what are you doing for Christmas?" asked Lilo.

"Oh just the usual quiet Christmas with the family." said 625.

"Do you think you'd want to come over tomorrow for Christmas dinner? The store owner and his wife could come of course." asked Lilo.

625 gave a sigh and looked up towards the ceiling, after a moment he looked back down towards Lilo. "Yeah, I think that can be arranged." Lilo smiled. "Lilo, I'm curious about something?"

"What is it?"

"How are things going at your place? I mean, how are the kids handling pirate boy leaving?"

Lilo was about to answer but Stitch beat her to the punch. "Their doing better then either me or Angel had expected. Their enjoying this time with Kioko before he leaves. And it's not like they don't know he's leaving, because they know. Their being very strong." explained Stitch as he looked down at the table.

"Of course their strong, their your kids." smiled Lilo, getting a small smirk out of her friend. "But why do you ask, 625?"

"It's just that, I don't think Kioko's handling it well." said 625 as he looked out the window.

"Really, what makes you say that?" asked Lilo growing a tiny bit of concern in her voice.

"It's just that over the past few weeks, I've seen Kioko around town but it seems like every time I see him he's more… you know… cold I guess would be the best description. A few days ago for example…"

**FLASHBACK**

625 was out in front of the bistro sweeping the sidewalk. The day was hot and 625 could feel his fur becoming damp from sweat. He finally finished and set the broom against the wall, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his forearm he looked around. He instantly noticed a tall dark figure walking toward him. He instantly recognized the figure as Kioko; he was wearing his long black and red coat and had his hands buried in its pockets.

"Hey there, Kioko!" shouted 625 as he stepped out into the middle of the sidewalk. "A bit warm out to be wearing black isn't it? Or are you trying to sweat off a few pounds?" questioned 625 with a hearty chuckle. Kioko didn't say a word; he just kept a steady pace toward 625. "Uh, Kioko?" chirped 625 curiously.

With out a thought Kioko pushed past 625, almost kicking him in the gut. "Out of my way." commanded Kioko in a cold voice as 625 was knocked to the ground.

625 had an expression of confusion and shock as he watched Kioko continue down the side walk before turning a corner.

**END FLASHBACK**

"I don't think Kioko's ever spoken to me in such a cold tone. But it wasn't his voice that frightened me; it was the look in his eyes. As he walked by me I glanced into his eyes, and they seemed empty, cold… granted not that different from any other time but… this time it was different."

Lilo and stitch were now both looking at 625 with interested looks on their faces. "What do you mean 'different'?" asked Lilo.

625 sighed and closed his eyes, as if trying to figure out how to describe it. He finally opened his eyes slightly. "It was as if he were straining against something, like he was fighting something in his mind."

"He did seem to be a little, irritable when I last saw him as well." blurted Stitch.

"It's possible that this whole thing is hurting him more then he leads us to believe." said Lilo solemnly. "He's not one to share his thoughts, or feelings."

"Well if he is feeling upset about this, we won't see it. He'll show up tomorrow and act as if nothing is bothering him. He'll probably even leave with out showing how he feels in side." added Stitch.

There was a moment of silence among the three of them. "Well this is a cheery conversation." blurted 625 with a small laugh.

"Yeah, sorry about that." blurted Lilo with a forced smile.

"Its ok." smiled 625.

"Hey Lilo we should get going its getting late." blurted Stitch after noticing the clock on the wall.

Lilo looked back over her shoulder and looked at the clock as well. "You're right, we need to go!" said Lilo as she pushed her chair back and got to her feet. "It's been good talking to you, 625. And thanks for the sandwiches." smiled Lilo.

"It's no problem, Lilo. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Both Lilo and Stitch smiled and then left for home. Later that night back at the pelekai house the kids were sitting around the Christmas tree staring at it as if it were some grand miracle.

"Ooh, I wonder what I'm going to get?" moaned Kina excitedly.

"Well hopefully we get some good stuff." said Oki.

"Yeah, not like those bad sweaters that we saw uncle Pleakly making." added Ashley as she looked at her brothers.

"But those sweaters were our size we'll most likely be getting them." sighed Kina.

"Maybe they are for Mom and Dad?" said Ashley.

"But there were three."

"Well, maybe one of them is for one of our other uncles?"

"Let's just hope that's true." agreed Oki.

Just then Stitch and Angel entered the room and walked over to their children. "Ok, it's time for bed, my little munchkins." smiled Stitch.

"Ah, do we have too?" moaned the kids in unison.

Angel gave a small laugh. "If you don't go to bed now, Santa Claus won't come."

"Why not?" asked Kina sounding a little panicked.

"He only visits children who are asleep, so if you want your gifts you better get to bed now." commanded Stitch pointing a claw toward the steps.

The kids all looked at each other. "Come one guys, we don't want Santa skipping us!" shouted Oki as he scrambled to his feet.

"Right!" replied Ashley and Kina as they followed their brother towards their room.

"We'll be up to tuck you in a few minutes!" shouted Angel. "And don't forget to brush your teeth!"

Amused smiles appeared on both Stitch and Angel's faces as they heard the kids scrambling for the bathroom. Angel finally gave a sigh, took a hold of Stitch's paw and leaned against him slightly. Stitch smiled and kissed her gently on the head before resting his cheek on top of her head.

"Don't you just love seeing those smiles on their faces?" asked Angel with a soft voice.

"Of course I do, there are very few things more pleasing to me then seeing our kids this happy. And one day, when they have children of their own, they'll know how good it feels."

Angel gave a small giggle. "Let's not rush that quite yet."

Stitch gave a small laugh of his own. "I know." said Stitch as the two began to gently sway from side to side. The two held their spot for a minute or two before the kids finally shouted down that they were ready.

Stitch and Angel both quickly made their way up to the kid's room. All of the kids were wiggle worms as they were tucked into bed, unable to control their excitement for the coming day. Stitch and Angel kissed them all goodnight and then proceeded to prepare for bed themselves. After a few minutes Angel was tucked under their own covers sitting up and looking over at Stitch, who was just entering the room after finishing brushing his teeth. Angel had an almost unnoticeable smirk on her face as Stitch climbed into bed and slid under the covers next to her.

The blue experiment gave a sigh and leaned back on his pillow, his arms behind his head. "You know, I'm rather excited about opening my gifts tomorrow as well." said Stitch with a grin.

"Why do I get the feeling you'll be racing the kids to see who can open everything first?" asked Angel.

"Probably because I will." replied Stitch with a toothy grin.

Angel smiled and rolled her eyes. "You're goofy."

Stitch smiled, leaned over and wrapped his arms around Angel waist. "And that's why you love me, right?" asked Stitch as he playfully nuzzled Angel's waist.

Angel blushed and reached down; she gently lifted Stitch's head up to face her. "That's one reason." smiled Angel as she kissed his nose.

Stitch smiled and sat back up. "But now come on, you have to be at least a little excited to see what you get?" said Stitch as he nudged her with his elbow.

"Stitch, I don't just find getting gifts pleasing, I also really enjoy giving gifts. I like seeing the look on other people's faces. I find that a lot more rewarding." said Angel as a sly look began to creep over her face.

Stitch smiled and shook his head slowly. "Angel, you have to be the sweetest experiment Jumba ever made."

Angel smiled and scooted over closer to Stitch. "Well, we'll just see how sweet you think I am."

Stitch scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I've decided to give you one of your gifts early, and it's right above your head." said Angel as she pointed up with her thumb.

Stitch looked up and saw a small twig with green leaves and red berries on it. A small smiled appeared on his face as he looked back over at Angel. "Mistletoe, huh?"

Angel nodded as she ran her finger over Stitch's chest. "Mistletoe over a doorway means a kiss, but mistletoe over the bed means…"

A toothy grin appeared on Stitch's face once again. "When are you ever going to let me start this kind of stuff?"

Angel smiled and they both leaned in close.

**Well that's the end of this chapter. The next chapter will start the morning of Christmas day so don't think you'll be seeing anything. Privacy is important after all. Anyway, away from that subject… as I said next is Christmas day and there are going to be a few surprises. I'll update as soon as possible. Please Review.**


	6. Christmas Surprises

Holidays

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 6: Christmas surprises

All was silent in the pelekai house; Stitch still felt the warmth of the soft bed sheets on top of him. He could still only see darkness in front of him; his little world was peaceful and calm. But suddenly his world was disrupted by the feeling of a warm paw shaking him slightly. Stitch gave a groan and swiped his arm in the direction that the paw was coming from.

"Stitch wake up," came the sound of Angel's voice, her tone was that of a loud whisper. "Come on we need to go and get things ready for the kids." said Angel as she continued to shake him.

Stitch gave another groan and rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillow. "Just five more minutes." groaned Stitch, his voice muffled.

Angel pulled her paw away from Stitch's shoulder as she rolled her eyes. She looked around the room trying to find some way to get him up faster. Finally a devilish smile formed on her face as she glanced down at her own paw. Her smile widened as she positioned her paw over Stitch's head. With out hesitation she places her paw on the back of Stitch's head and shoves his face down into the pillow. The blue experiment instantly began to struggle as his air was cut off, flailing his arms wildly and kicking his legs. After a few seconds Angel removed her paw allowing Stitch to raise his head up for air.

"Alright I'm up, I'm up!" shouted Stitch as he tried to catch his breathe.

"Well good morning, Hun." smiled Angel.

Stitch looked over at her and shook his head. "You're evil you know that."

"I had to get you up some how."

"Well did you have to try and kill me?" joked Stitch. Angel just shrugged. "There are gentler ways to get me up you know." said Stitch with a small smirk of his own.

Angel raised her eye brow. "Down boy, you had your fun last night."

"Ah come on." moaned Stitch as he watched Angel slide out from under the covers and walk over to her dresser.

Angel gave a small laugh as she picked up a soft brush and began brushing her fur. "Not now Stitch, it's the kids turn to get gifts."

Stitch gave a sigh and leaned back on his pillow. "Aw, our kids don't need gifts. Their spoiled enough as it is." smiled Stitch as she rubbed his eyes.

Angel finished brushing herself and looked over at Stitch. "Just come on, sleepy head." said Angel before grabbing a towel and washcloth from a small rack next to her dresser.

"Don't rush me; you're the morning person, not me."

Stitch gave a tired groan and slowly slid out of bed and began getting cleaned up. Both Stitch and Angel quickly got them selves descent and all washed up before sneaking down the stairs as to not wake the kids yet. When they got down stairs they found everybody else already up and getting the house ready. Nani was in the kitchen making a small pot of coffee, Lilo was in the living room along with Jumba and Pleakly, stuffing the kid's stockings and placing a few last gifts under the tree.

"Oh, there you two are!" chirped Lilo as she noticed Stitch and Angel walking into the room. "Good morning and Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Lilo." chimed Stitch and Angel in unison.

"Ah, another Christmas day, I never grow tired of this Earth custom." smiled Pleakly as he looked up and down at the Christmas tree.

"Is nice festivity yes, but puts big hole in Jumba's moneys." groaned Jumba as he patted his pockets.

A laugh from across the room made Jumba look over toward the kitchen to see Nani walking in with a pot of coffee. "That's just a classic side affect of the Holiday season. Now does any one want coffee?" asked Nani as she held the pot up.

Stitch's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "Coffee!" yelled Stitch before leaping toward Nani.

"No, you don't!" yelled Nani as she pulled the pot out of Stitch's reach. Stitch landed and quickly turned for another shot at the pot. He leapt again but Nani just pulled the pot away. The older Hawaiian girl started spinning in circles as Stitch kept leaping up and trying to grab the pot. "Lilo, get Stitch now!" yelled Nani as she glanced at her sister.

Lilo just gave a small laugh. "Well you should have known better then to offer coffee right in front of him."

"Just get him; I'm starting to get dizzy."

"Alright, alright." smiled Lilo as she walked over toward her sister. Lilo reached forward and snatched Stitch out of the air as he made another leap for the pot. "No coffee for you, Stitch." smiled Lilo as she held the experiment tightly in her arms.

"Ah come on, Lilo. It's Christmas, the season of giving, can't I just have a cup?" whined Stitch.

Lilo looked over at her sister. "It is Christmas."

Nani gave a sigh and looked down at the coffee pot and then back toward Stitch. "Well… ok fine, just one cup and that's it."

"One cup, got it!" smiled stitch as Lilo dropped him to the floor.

Stitch scampered off into the kitchen and quickly returned with a pitcher. "I said a cup!" yelled Nani.

Stitch just gave a groan and walked back into the kitchen. Just then there was a loud knock at the door, Lilo quickly walked over and opened the door. Kioko was standing there with a massive pile of gifts in his arms. "Merry Christmas all! Would some one mind guiding me to the tree, I can't see at all right now." asked Kioko.

"Uh, Merry Christmas, Kioko. The tree's right over here." said Lilo as she guided Kioko over to the tree.

"Thank you, Lilo." said Kioko as he took a few wobbly steps toward the tree. Kioko reached the tree and slowly lowered himself down to his knees. He carefully lowered the large pile of presents down to the floor and gave a relieved sigh. "That feels so much better." smiled Kioko a she stood and stretched his back.

"Now you can't tell me that you're strong enough to lift a car like it was a toy but a bunch of presents strain your back." blurted Nani with a skeptical tone in her voice.

Kioko gave a huff as he once again kneeled down and began unstacking the presents and sliding them under the tree. "Oh no, it wasn't the presents it was my morning workout. I pulled a muscle in my back while doing my usual 3,000 vertical sit ups."

Nani just raised an eyebrow and then looked over at Stitch and Angel. Stitch, who had gotten his cup of coffee, was now holding it above his open mouth trying to get the last drop out. "I think you two can go wake the kids now. Everything's ready."

"Right." said Angel with a smile. She then looked over at Stitch who was still straining for that last drop. The female experiment rolled her eyes and nudged Stitch's arm with her elbow. Stitch quickly lowered the cup and looked around with a confused look. "It's time to wake the kids Stitch, come on."

"Oh-oh, right!" shouted Stitch as he handed his coffee cup back to Nani.

The two experiments quickly turned and scampered up the steps and down the hall toward the kid's room. The two came to a stop in front of the kids door, Angel stood off to the side while Stitch quietly walked up to the door.

"Kids, time to wake up." said Stitch as he knocked on the door. "It's Christmas." There came no sound from the other side of the door. "Kids?" asked Stitch in a curious tone as he went to knock on the door again.

But suddenly the door flew open smacking Stitch in the face and knocking him down to the ground. In a flash three furry blurs raced out of the room and towards the stairs. "Hold it!" shouted Stitch as he sat up, rubbing his nose.

The kids all slide to a stop, smashing into each other and all falling to the floor at the top of the stairs. "What?" groaned Oki as he looked back toward his parents.

"Watch that tone young man." scolded Angel as Stitch crawled out from behind the door.

"Since you all just hit your Father in the face with a door, you have to wait for me and your Mother to get down stairs first." said Stitch as he walked up next to Angel.

All the kids gave groans as their parents slowly walked toward the stairs. Stitch and Angel smiled at each other as they playfully made their way slowly down the steps, stopping occasionally to give one another a small kiss. The kids were all groaning as Stitch and Angel finally reached the bottom of the steps. The two turned and faced the kids at the kids at the top of the steps. "Ok, ready, set, go!" shouted Stitch.

"But no runn-" started Angel but once again three furry blurs blew past her and into the living room. "-ing"

Stitch and Angel both hurried into the living room to find a scene of chaos. The kids were ripping away at gift wrapping like they had gone mad. Every one else in the room had wind blown expressions on their faces. "Do you two have kids or mini tornados?" asked Kioko as he looked down at the kids who were already almost done opening their gifts.

"Sometimes we wonder." said Angel.

A little while later the kids had finished opening their gifts and were now admiring what they had gotten. Kina was sitting in front of the couch with a small western style guitar in his paws, Oki and Ashley were trying on their cowboy/cowgirl hats and matching gun belts.

"How do you work this thing?" asked Kina as he plucked a string on the guitar.

Lilo and Stitch both gave small laughs. "I'm sure your Father can teach you how to play it." smiled Lilo.

Stitch smiled. "Of course, come here I'll show you."

"These hats are really cool!" blurted Ashley as she fiddled with the brim of her hat.

"But they smell kind of funny." said Oki with a slight look of disgust.

"Well they are over 100 years old. And genuine leather does start to smell after that long." said Kioko.

"100 years old?" asked Nani curiously.

"Yep, the hat that Oki is wearing belonged to Billy the kid and the one Ashley is wearing belonged to Jane 'the gun' Marlow."

Nani had a dumbfounded look on her face. "Do you own a museum or something?"

Kioko gave a small laugh as he reclined in his chair. "You'd be surprised at what you could find in my house."

"I must be admitting, 6-2-6." blurted Jumba as he ran his new heated back massager down his back. "You were certainly picking excellent gift for evil genius creator. Is really feeling good on Jumba's slipped disk."

"Stitch really does know the best gifts for every one." smiled Lilo as she held up two new Elvis records. "Where in the world did you ever find two previously unknown Elvis records?"

Stitch smiled and looked at his claws. "Let's just say that I know E-bay like the back of my paw now."

Angel gave a small chirp as she crawled up next to Stitch. "So, where's my 'great' gift?"

Stitch's ears suddenly perked up as he looked at her. "Oh, right!" shouted Stitch as he hopped off the couch. "Wait one moment."

Angel and every one else looked on curiously as Stitch ran out into the hall and up the stairs to their bed room. A moment later he came scurrying back down the steps and into the living room. He hopped up on the couch beside Angel and took a deep breathe. "Ok, now close your eyes." instructed Stitch.

An excited smile formed on Angel's face as she covered her eyes with her paws. "No peeking now." said Stitch as he extended one of his lower arms. He opened his paw to reveal the beautiful pendant that he had picked just for Angel. The blue experiment carefully unlatched the chain, gently reached up, placed the pendant around Angel's neck and latched it once again. "Ok, you can open your eyes now."

Angel slowly removed her paws from her eyes and looked down. Her eyes widened as she gazed down at the beautiful pink and blue stone hanging around her neck. Her mouth hung open and she seemed almost frozen as she continued to just stare at the pendant. Jumba gave a gasp of realization as he looked closer at the small stone.

"That… that is being core stone! But how, where, how did you come about finding core stone on Earth, 6-2-6?"

"Kioko gave it to me." said Stitch as he looked at his creator.

"You gave the little monster something as valuable as core stone?" shouted Pleakly in disbelief. "How did you even have core stone?"

"I'm a pirate, Pleakly, I stole stuff like that all the time." shrugged Kioko.

Suddenly Angel gave a girlish squeal before leaping forward and tackling Stitch across the couch. The two rolled all the way to the other end of the couch before coming to a stop with Angel sitting on top of Stitch with his shoulders pinned. "Oh Stitch I love it!" screamed Angel as she began planting kiss after kiss on Stitch's face. "It's so beautiful and it has our colors too." said Angel after taking a break from the kissing.

"So, you like it then?" asked Stitch with a little smile.

Angel lifted Stitch up and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I really like it, I really do." smiled Angel as she nuzzled Stitch's cheek.

Stitch kissed Angel on the bridge of the nose and then pulled away from the hug. "You know Kioko was the one who suggested it."

Angel smiled. "Oh I know that." She turned and leapt off the couch, she ran over to the chair Kioko was sitting in, crawled up so she was next to him. "And I should thank you too." said Angel before giving Kioko a small kiss on the cheek.

Kioko smiled and gave her a small hug. "You're welcome."

Angel smiled once again and went back over to sit next to Stitch. A few minutes later Kioko began digging through to the bottom of the pile of gift wrapping that sat next to his chair. After a moment he pulled out a large, thick, grey book. He stood up and walked over to Lilo, the Hawaiian girl looked confused as Kioko extended the book toward her.

"This is my gift to you, Lilo. I'm sure you'll find a use for it." said Kioko as he handed the book over to Lilo.

Lilo looked curiously down at the book, it's cover was covered in dust and the edges of the pages were faded a yellowish color and were tattered. "It's really old." blurted Lilo.

"Well like many things I've had it for a long time. That book was written by a good friend of mine. I'm sure you can find good use for what's inside of it." said Kioko as he sat back down in his seat.

Everyone looked on with the same curious expressions that Lilo had. The girl took a deep breathe and blew the dust off the cover the best she could. Accidentally blowing the dust in Stitch's direction, causing the poor alien to start sneezing. Lilo didn't notice him as she brushed the remaining dust off of the cover. Slowly revealing the title on the books cover, this was outlined with gold.

Lilo began reading the title out loud. "Alchemic laws and theories, by Edward Elric." Lilo flipped open the book and began flipping through the aged pages of the book. The pages were filled with chemical equations and lists of elements, but what caught her eye the most were the pages filled with strange circles. "What… is this book about?" asked Lilo as she looked up at Kioko.

A smirk formed on Kioko's face. "That book is filled with everything you need to know, to perform the lost human science of Alchemy. It was written by one of thee greatest Alchemists ever, Edward Elric, the Full Metal Alchemist. Who as I said was a good friend of mine, after we settled the conflict between us that is."

"Wait, I've heard of Alchemy before!" shouted Nani. "Yeah, back when I was in school I heard about it in my science class. It was a science widely used centuries back, but slowly faded away with the advancements of technology."

"You are correct, Nani." nodded Kioko.

"So, what is Alchemy?' asked Lilo.

"Alchemy is the science of breaking down matter, analyzing it's composition and then rebuilding it in a new form. It is done through a process called transmutation." explained Kioko.

"To be waiting one moment here!" blurted Jumba. "How can ancient humans be transmuting matter? It takes massive amounts of energy to change even most simple elements into another element. Jumba's lab didn't even have barley enough power to do that."

"That's what makes it all the more interesting, Jumba." Kioko said as he looked over at Jumba. "Some how humans have the ability to transmute elements simply by using those circles that you see in the book."

"I am not believing this. Jumba will have to try out this alchemy for himself."

"Uh uh," chimed Kioko as he wagged his finger. "Only full blooded humans can perform alchemy. Believe me, I've tried it before and we aliens can't do it."

"But why is that?" asked Pleakly.

"It's a… species thing I guess. After all, every species has an ability that sets them apart from the rest. For my people it's our kieten, for Jumba's species it's their large brains and for Pleakly's species… well… I've yet to figure out what your people can do."

"Hey!" shouted Pleakly.

"All I'm saying is that only a human can perform alchemy."

"I still don't get why you're giving this to Me." blurted Lilo.

"I'm giving it to you so that after I leave I'll know that if some one or something attacks you'll be able to handle yourself."

Stitch suddenly gave a huff and stood up on the couch. "Uh hello, I'm here! If anything comes our way me and the cousins can handle it. Don't be thinking that after you leave we're defenseless." growled Stitch a tone of irritation obvious in his voice.

A stern look came over Kioko's face as he looked over at Stitch. "I do not consider you defenseless with out me around, Stitch. It's just that the more ways you have to defend yourself the better. And if Lilo learns alchemy she'll be able to assist any of your cousins. Besides, after I leave, many more people will become aware of you all." Kioko began to look around the room slowly at every one. "I have many enemies still, and any one of them would gladly hurt you all just to get to me. And I hate to say it Stitch but, there are many who are far stronger then you or any of your cousins. So the more power you have on your side the better. I just hope you don't have to use that power."

The room fell into silence for a few moments; Lilo continued to flip through the book, occasionally stopping to look at something more closely. Slowly the room began to return to it's previous state of cheerfulness. The kids went back to playing with their gifts, every one else finished opening their gifts and more cheerful conversations started up again. The entire Christmas day went on with an unusual sense of normalcy, well as normal as it can get when there are aliens running around.

625, the shop keeper, and his wife all came over that night for dinner. Spirits were high and humor filled the pelekai house, giving the home a warm and inviting feel. Sadly, before anyone realized it, Christmas day was drawing to a close. 625 and the shop keepers left with smiles on their faces and a warm sendoff by the whole family. The kids were filled with mixed emotions as they carried their new toys and gifts up to their room, saddened by the fact the day was over but joyous of their new gains. Everyone else was feeling relief that they busy day was over.

Nani was now in the kitchen finishing up the dishes, with the assistance of Jumba and Pleakly. Stitch and Angel were now standing outside on the back patio, both starring up at the night sky. Angel gave a content purr as she slide her arm under Stitch's while lifting up her pendant with the other. Smiling as she admired it, Stitch gave a smile of his own as he watched her. "So, I take it that you like your gift?" blurted Stitch.

Angel didn't say anything at first; she just leaned her head on his shoulder and gave another purr. "Words cannot express how much I love it, Stitch."

"You still love me more though, right?" asked Stitch playfully.

Angel gave a small laugh and looked back down at the pendant, focusing on the intertwining blue and pink of the stone. "Let's just say that, when ever I wear this or look at it, I'll think of you." smiled Angel as she looked and gave Stitch a kiss on the cheek. "It's like you're right next to my heart." finished Angel with another kiss.

"I'll also be next to some other things." said Stitch with a sly smile.

Angel slapped Stitch's arms playfully. "Oh stop it, before you ruin the moment."

Stitch just gave a laugh of his own. "I'm sorry, buchi boo." said Stitch as he rubbed his cheek on her head.

Angel gave a sigh and put her paw on top of Stitch's, massaging in between his fingers gently. "I just wish my gift to you was as special."

"Are you kidding? I love my new instant coffee and coconut cake maker!" shouted Stitch. "And you made it yourself too, that just makes it extra special."

Angel blushed slightly. "You think so?"

"Of course, cause now when ever I eat a slice of coconut cake with a hot cup of coffee I'll think of you. And I think of how lucky I am to have such a beautiful and intelligent experiment like you as my buchi boo."

Angel looked up at Stitch with a heavenly smile, staring into his eyes as she leaned in close to him. "Oh, Stitch," cooed Angel as their lips touched tenderly. The two of them held the kiss for a minute or two before pulling away. "I love you." smiled Angel as she ran her paw over his cheek.

"I love you too." smiled Stitch as he did the same.

Meanwhile, out front Kioko was finishing tieing the gifts he had received to the back of his motorcycle. He threw his leg over the bikes seat and started the bike up. He was about to pull away but he suddenly noticed Lilo walking up to him. The pirate turned the bike off again and at back on the seat. Lilo slowly made her way toward the bike, glancing at the packages strapped to the back. She gave a small laugh as she looked back toward Kioko.

"It's a wonder you had managed to put all the gifts you brought on that thing." smirked Lilo as she came to a stop beside the bike.

"Well it wasn't easy, I'll tell you that much." said Kioko as he looked at the packages.

"Listen, Kioko…" started Lilo, folding her arms over her chest. "I want to thank you again for that book." Kioko just looked at her with a small smile. "I promise you that I'll study and learn alchemy and by the time you get back I'll be a master alchemist."

"Now don't go and learn it just because of me. Try to find something you like about it. If you enjoy doing it, it'll come more easily to you."

"Oh don't worry about that. You know I like the sciency, weird stuff." grinned Lilo. "Plus if I do learn it, I'll finally be able to help Stitch and his cousins. I won't be just some helpless human girl anymore."

"Indeed, by learning alchemy you literally gain the power to change the world around you. Just make sure you understand the laws and rules of how it all works first."

"I will." smiled Lilo.

Kioko gave a smile of his own and once again started up his bike. "I'll hold you to that promise now." yelled Kioko, raising his voice above the noise of the bike.

"And I won't break that promise." yelled Lilo. Without another word Kioko took off down the drive way. Lilo gave a small sigh as she watched him turn the corner and disappear. As the noise faded away the young girl raised her arms into the air and gave a groan as she stretched her whole body. She gave another sigh as she relaxed again, a look of renewed energy on her face. "Well, if I'm going to stick to that promise, I better go start studying."

The girl gave an energetic turn toward the house and began quickly walking back, but she suddenly stopped realizing what she had just said. "I can't believe I'm actually eager to study for once."

Lilo gave a shrug and once again headed for the front door.

**Well that's the end of this chapter and this Holiday. Next up is New Years, obviously. Guaranteed to be a little more dramatic, so for those of you who have been asking why Kioko was in such a bad mood, your questions are about to be answered. Thanks for reading and please review.**


	7. The Truth

Holidays

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 7: The Truth

At long last the final days of Kioko's stay on Earth were upon the Pelekai family. It was New Years Eve and Kioko would be leaving the next day, but despite this fact spirits were high and the celebration was in full force. The entire family and even a few experiments were in the living room waiting for midnight and the start of the New Year. Even Cobra had stopped by, though his reason for the visit was more along the lines of business rather then celebration. Kioko was also there for obvious reasons.

Cheers now filled the house as the final count down began. Every one started counting down aloud as the ball dropped on the television screen, growing louder and louder with each second. Finally the ball reached the bottom, the count down reached zero and the clock chimed midnight. A great uproar came over the TV but was drowned out by the cheering in the room. Stitch and Angel, Nani and David and any other couple that was in the room planted a kiss on their partner's lips lovingly. Anyone else just cheered out happily as Jumba popped the cork on a bottle of champagne for those of drinking age and a bottle of sparkling grape juice for the younger set.

The celebration progressed quickly as every one shared a toast to the New Year. Champagne and grape juice was downed quickly, though all who had more then one glass of champagne were starting to feel it. Lilo breathed a heavy sigh of happiness as she flopped down on the couch. She set her glass on a small table at the end of the couch and began looking around the room. Every one was now standing around laughing and telling each other their New Years resolutions. A smile crossed her face as she bathed in the warmth and friendliness of the room. These were the times she loved, when her new Ohana all gathered together and celebrated with each other. But just then the thought that one of her Ohana was about to leave slipped into her mind.

Her smile dropped slightly as she looked down toward her knees. 'We're losing a member of our family again.' thought Lilo sadly. 'But why, why are we always saying good bye?'

Lilo cringed as she tried to push the thought out of her mind. "What am I talking about?" asked Lilo quietly to herself. "It's not like he's leaving for ever, it's just a year. That's it, just one year and a year isn't for ever. There's no point getting all worked up about it."

Lilo looked back up toward the party and quickly realized that neither Kioko nor Cobra were in the room. And as she started to think about she realized that she hadn't seen either of them for almost half an hour. A curious and puzzled look came over her face as she continued to look around. Eventually her curiosity got the best of her and she decided to go looking for the two men. Lilo started to look for them from one room to another. They weren't in the kitchen, they weren't in the dining room, she couldn't find them any where in the house.

A small feeling of worry began to creep its way into the girls mind as she came down from up stairs, still searching for the two men. But as she headed back toward the living room the sound of a deep voice caught her ear. Lilo stopped and looked down a short hallway that ended up in the laundry room. A door leading outside to the back patio sat across from the hall on the other side of the small room. The girl slowly began making her way down the hall and into the laundry room. As she got closer she could more clearly make out Cobras voice and occasionally Kioko's voice as well. They seemed to be discussing something, a small tinge of anger and frustration in each of their voices. Once again Lilo's curiosity got the best of her and she quietly made her way next to the door.

She pressed her back against the wall on the other side of the door way and leaned her head toward the door. Their secret conversation quickly became audible to her and she began to listen in.

"So, you understand the rules of this exile of yours?" asked Cobra in his typical professional tone.

Cobra was standing at the edge of the patio facing Kioko who was leaning against the side of the house with his arms folded across his chest. His head was lowered as he glared up at cobra a small sneer on his lips.

"Yeah, I understand completely." said Kioko with a tone of anger in his voice. "This is all just a big pain in the ass."

"Let us not forget that it was you who volunteered to do this."

Kioko gave a cold huff and looked to the left slightly. "I never volunteered for any of this. I never volunteered to get involved."

A confused look came over Lilo's face as she quietly listened in. 'get involved? What?' thought Lilo.

"But you got involved anyway, no one ever said you had to get involved this deeply." said Cobra as he looked over the top of his sun glasses. (Why he's wearing sunglasses at night is beyond me)

Kioko looked back toward Cobra with an icy glare. "You blame me for this situation I'm in?"

"It's no one else's fault."

"Oh bull shit, if it hadn't been for your pathetic government and the cowardly Galactic Empire I would never have had to get involved and I wouldn't be in this situation I'm in!" growled Kioko raising his voice to just below a yell.

Lilo gave a small gasp as her confusion grew deeper. 'What, what is he talking about? What happened that we don't know?'

"Well if you had accomplished your mission you could have moved on and never had to deal with them!" replied Cobra raising his voice as well. Kioko continued to glare at the man tightening his grip on his own arms. "If you had just done what we had ordered you too, you would have been spared and you wouldn't be in this 'situation'. My question to you is why you couldn't go through with it? For some one as cold hearted as you supposedly are it shouldn't have been any problem. But you hesitated for some reason, why?"

Kioko lowered his eyes away from the man and lowered his head further. The pirate was silent for a moment as Cobra eyes him suspiciously. Suddenly Cobra could see a smirk forming on Kioko's mouth and was soon followed by a seemingly amused chuckle. Kioko slowly looked back up to the agent, his chuckling coming to a halt. Meanwhile Lilo's jaw dropped slightly and her breathing started to become shallow. She knew she was hearing something that was probably not meant to be heard by anyone. But what was still unclear.

'Why… is he laughing? What the hell is going on here?" Lilo clenched her teeth as she began to struggle against the urge to just burst out and ask what was going on.

Kioko gave a small sigh he looked Cobra in the eye with a fiendish little smile on his face. "You, your government and the Galactic Empire… came to me. You came to me because you thought you had no other option. I watched you beg and plead for hours, trying to get me to go along with your desires. You were ready to do anything to hire me for your use. I must say it was rather amusing."

Cobra squinted his eyes scornfully as the pirate lowered his head once more. "What's your point?"

"The point is that after I, for some odd reason, accepted your pleas and agreed to do what you wished… the mission ended up turning out to be no where near what it had intended to be. I mainly blame the Empire for jumping to conclusions that I couldn't handle the mission, and for sending people that merely got in my way."

"Jump to conclusions? Are you saying that if the Empire hadn't sent back up that you would have gone through with the mission? Because it appeared to me that you had no intention of doing what you were told."

"Of course I would have gone through with it."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because the 'target' changed." growled Kioko.

"What do you mean?"

Kioko gave an angry sigh and gave a sneer. "You and the pathetic Galactic Empire asked me… to step in and stop a potential disaster. You asked me… to find… and destroy… experiment 626." said Kioko with slight hesitation in his voice.

Lilo eyes shot wide open and a deathly gasp escaped her as Kioko's words echoed through her mind. Her lower jaw began to tremble and slowly her entire body began to do the same. She couldn't believe what she had just heard, the man who had saved Stitch's life so many years ago, was just another person out to destroy him. How such a fact had slipped by her was something she couldn't grasp. She thought she knew her Ohana, she thought she knew everything there was to know.

She thought she had figured Kioko out, the reasons for everything he did. But suddenly, her whole view on him was shattered. She suddenly felt like he was a stranger again. And then memories started coming back to her, memories of the day they first meet.

**FLASHBACK**

Kioko smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I know all of your names. Your Pleakly, he's Jumba, and then of course we have Lilo, her sister Nani and finally experiment 6-2-6. Otherwise known as Stitch." explained Kioko as he pointed to each of them.

"Yeah, but how do you know us?" asked Lilo with a curious tone.

"It's a long story; I'll explain it to you some day."

* * *

"Kioko, you did it again! You saved Stitch from Gantu, but why?" asked Lilo as she hugged Stitch tight.

Kioko smiled as he watched the two friends. "Well, let's just say that… I've grown fond of you two. Plus I would hate to see such a close friendship ruined."

**END FLASHBACK**

'Was… was he lying when he said that? Was he lying about growing fond of us?' Lilo's thoughts were racing; it felt like her whole family relationship with him was gone. 'If he was lying then… why would he lie? What was he trying to do by lying to us?'

Lilo's thoughts were interrupted as she once again focused on the conversation outside. She now felt anger growing inside of her; a member of her ohana wasn't who she thought and she just had to find out more.

"You hired me to destroy experiment 626," said Kioko, his voice no longer holding any hesitation. "You hired me to destroy a genetically created monster that threatened galactic security. You did not hire me to kill a little girl's best friend and pet!" shouted Kioko fiercely.

"Since when would something like that stop a blood thirsty pirate like you!" screamed Cobra as he angrily ripped his glasses off of his face. "I've read the reports on you, Kioko. I know the hideous crimes you've committed in the past. Slaughtering entire cities of people, destroying almost everything you touched. From what you've done I'd hardly think that the feelings of one little girl would matter much to you."

Kioko was now standing straight; his arms were by his sides as he clenched his fists tightly. His head was once more lowered so that a shadow covered his eyes. "You're right," started Kioko, his voice cold yet still holding a tone of anger. "The feelings of one little human girl wouldn't matter much to me. Stitch or 6-2-6 would have been dead the moment he stepped out of that dog pound, but the Empire just had to send Jumba and Pleakly after him too. Right as I was about to strike him down a blast from Jumba's plasma gun blew past my shoulder and threw off my aim. They ruined my chance. That's why I didn't kill him."

"So, Lilo's feelings didn't have anything to do with it?" asked Cobra his tone of anger slowly fading.

"Not then it wasn't. After Stitch first landed I knocked a tree down in the road and detoured a bunch of trucks. Obviously that failed to kill him and looking at it from my perspective now… I don't know why I thought it would have worked. After that failed attempt my next chance came when Lilo adopted him. But of course that plan was ruined by the bumbling duo of Jumba and Pleakly. If they hadn't interfered, I would have killed Stitch swooped down grabbed his body and left before Lilo even knew what happened. I never even considered her feelings, because to tell you the truth I couldn't have cared less."

"You had many more opportunities after that when you could have struck. Why didn't you?"

"There was no other time to strike, he was always with Lilo. I couldn't kill him in front of her."

"And why not, you say her feelings didn't matter to you?"

Kioko was silent for a moment. "I know the look on a child's face when some one they care about dies in front of them. It's the fear I have… of facing that look that discouraged me from striking. I'd do anything to keep from seeing that look."

Lilo's skin was now pale, anger, fear, resentment; almost every form of negative emotion was now flowing through her. The man who she, a short while ago, was upset about leaving; she now held anger and hate towards. She seemed frozen to the wall, paralyzed by what she was hearing.

"The only other time that I could have killed him… was when he ventured into the forest alone." Kioko's voice was now quiet. "It… would have been so easy. His guard was down, he was totally defenseless and Jumba and Pleakly were no where to be seen. I almost did it, but I spent half the night standing over him, hovering over him like death itself. Fighting with myself, fighting with the humane and merciful side of me over whether or not to kill him." Kioko slowly raised his right hand and looked down at it, uncurling his fist and staring into his palm. "But for some… reason… I couldn't do it. I still don't know why I couldn't; maybe it was because he looked like a child, holding that ridiculous book. And seeing how you've read my reports you know that I find no enjoyment in killing children."

"But he wasn't a child he was a…"

"I know what he was, I know he wasn't a child!" shouted Kioko as he clenched his fist again. "I know I should have been able to kill him, but for some reason I couldn't."

"So… it is your fault then." blurted Cobra. "You blame every one else for the problems you face but in truth it is only your fault."

"It's not my fault…" said Kioko his voice quiet and slightly strained as if he were holding back his anger. "You could never understand the reasons for some of the things I do. There's only one person in this house that can do that and it's not you."

"If that's so, then I pray for who ever that may be. For understanding what you do, must be hell."

Kioko gave a growl. "Shut up. A pathetic human insect like you has no right to judge what you do not know."

"I don't need to know or understand it. If it has to do with you, then it can only be something vile and wicked."

Kioko clenched his teeth in rage at this remark, his fists tightened even more cracking every joint in his hands. "I don't have time for this." growled Kioko before turning and walking away to the side of the house, his head still lowered.

"For such a ferociously powerful pirate," started Cobra causing Kioko to stop in his tracks. "You are nothing but a coward. You storm away like a dog with its tail between its legs and your head lowered. You tried to keep from making eye contact with me, such cowardly body language." said Cobra an almost mocking tone in his voice.

Kioko raised his head slightly yet kept his gaze focused ahead of him. "I… am not a coward. I hold my head low for your safety only." A confused and curious look appears on Cobras face as Kioko looks back over his shoulder at him. A deathly look in his eye. "If I had maintained eye contact this whole time… I probably would have killed you."

Cobra gave an almost unnoticeable gasp as the pirate looked back ahead of him and continued to walk away, disappearing into the shadows on the forest ahead of him. Cobras look was quickly replaced by his professional, emotionless expression as he slipped his sunglasses back on. With out a sound the agent turned and walked away in the opposite direction, turning around the house and heading for the drive way. Lilo could hardly breathe as she watched Cobra walk past the clear door and turn the corner of the house.

As soon as he disappeared she slid to the floor clutching herself tightly in an attempt to comfort herself. Her expression was of pure shock and confusion as she stared into the abyss that had seemed to just form in front of her. She didn't understand any of it, why she felt like this, why she hadn't figured out the reason for Kioko knowing their names, she couldn't understand any of it. She felt betrayed most of all; she couldn't believe that the man who she admired at times was no different from Gantu, Hamsterviel or any of the many people who tried to take stitch away from her. The only difference she could see was that what he had done was far worse then anything the rest had done.

They didn't get cozy with her ohana and not tell anyone that they were just after Stitch. They never betrayed her, they had shown their true intentions from the start. How far, how far was Kioko going to take this was all she could think about. He acted as if he truly loved their family. He helped capture the experiments and reform them from time to time, he rescued Angel, he helped take care of the kids, he took her to the prom, and they even kissed once. Lilo's eyes widened even further before squeezing shut, she put her hands over her face at the thought. She had kissed the man who had only come to their family to kill Stitch, how could se do that!

Tears began to well up in Lilo's eyes as she tried to shake the thoughts from her mind. She now regretted listening to what she was obviously not meant to hear, but at the same time she felt relieved that she now knew the truth. Lilo removed her hands and stared down at her palms as tears began to roll down her cheeks. She watched with quivering lips as tears fell down to her palms, she had never felt so bad in her life. She had never felt this betrayed before in her life. Images of all the times that she and her family had shared with Kioko now flashed in her mind. Every new image made the anger inside of her grow more and more. Every laugh and smile they had shared was no more then an act.

Lilo's hands now tightened into fists of her own, a look of anger grew over her saddened face as she clenched her teeth together. She suddenly knew what she had to do, she had to confront him herself. She had to make sure that he was not hiding any other secrets from her. She had to find out what he had intended to do. Lilo slowly got up to her feet and began walking back toward the living room. Wiping away her tears with the back of her fist, she didn't want anyone to suspect anything. She didn't want them knowing the truth yet. And before she told them, she'd make sure that it was the whole truth. She wasn't going to let Kioko hide anything else from her, not now and not ever.

**Well that's the end of this chapter! Just three chapters left! Please review.**


	8. Confrontation

Holidays

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 8: Confrontation

A look of anger remained on Lilo's face as she slowly made her way back to the party. Quickly wiping her tears away from her eyes, she didn't want anyone getting suspicious or curious. As she entered the living room she instantly noticed that Kioko hadn't come in, which didn't surprise her in the least. Jumba, Pleakly, Stitch, Angel and the kids were the only ones left in the room. The kids were fast asleep on the couch, huddled together at one end. Jumba and Pleakly were standing around talking and Stitch and Angel were cuddling in a chair across the room.

A heavy feeling came over Lilo's heart as she looked at all of them; she feared what their reactions would be once she told them. She feared hurting them, after all they were in such high spirits and telling them the truth about Kioko would most definitely ruin the festive mood. Lilo paused mid step for a moment, giving a sad sigh before continuing toward the front door. But before she could reach it Nani grabbed her by the arm and yanked her into the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" asked Nani forcibly.

"I have something I need to do." replied Lilo, her voice low and quiet.

"Well I'm sure it can wait. Right now you need to help me and David clean up." ordered Nani as she pointed her thumb over her shoulder at David who was cleaning up the kitchen table.

"This can't wait, Nani. It's really important." said Lilo her voice becoming a bit louder.

Nani folded her arms over her chest and gave her younger sister a doubtful look. "What's so important?"

"I… I really need to talk to Kioko about something."

"You'll have plenty of time to talk to him later. Right now help clean." commanded Nani as she turned and walked over to the sink.

Lilo narrowed her eyes at her sister but soon gave a defeated sigh. She walked over next to her sister and began helping with the dishes. She didn't want to; she wanted to confront Kioko about what she had heard him say. But the more she thought about it the less sure she was about it, she decided to use the time to come up with just how she was going to confront him. Now that she knew he had been lying there was no doubt in her mind that he would most likely lie to her again if she asked the wrong questions. She had to think of questions that would force the truth.

After about an hour they had finished cleaning and Lilo was now free to confront Kioko. But now the only problem was, knowing where he was. He had never come back in after his talk with Cobra and she didn't know where he could be. She gave a small sigh as she thought hard about where he could have gone, with his abilities he could be on a whole other island. Lilo turned and saw Angel walking in to the kitchen with some empty plastic cups in her arms.

"Hey, Angel…" blurted Lilo as she watched the pink experiment drop the cups in the garbage.

"Yeah, Lilo?"

"Do, you know where Kioko got too?"

"Yeah, isn't that him up there?" said Angel as she pointed toward the window.

Lilo turned and looked out the window; she instantly saw a tall dark figure standing up near their hammock looking out over the island. "Are you sure that's him?" asked Lilo as she looked back toward Angel.

"Of course, who else would it be? Besides, I know Kioko when I see him." said Angel with a smile.

Lilo gave a nod as Angel turned and walked back into the living room. She turned back to the window and took a deep breathe, her eyes narrowed and then she walked off toward the door. Meanwhile Kioko was standing up next to the red and white hammock, gazing out over the island. His arms were at his sides and his head was lowered slightly, his eyes held a certain sadness to them as he studied the tropical landscape. Down below he could hear a few outdoor celebrations still going strong; bonfires and other light sources dotted the otherwise dark expanse of the island.

The moon gave the distant ocean an eerie glow, defining the border between the sea and land, the sky and the Earth. 'How… how is it that so many different feelings and emotions can fill the same little planet and never meet?' thought Kioko as he starred across the horizon. 'How can some be feeling joy and happiness while others feel lonely and sad? How is it possible?'

Kioko shifted his gaze toward Kokoua town. "So many happy people, having the times of their lives not even worrying about what could happen." Kioko said quietly to himself. "The thought that everything they hold dear could be gone in an instant… is absent in their minds."

Kioko clenched his teeth gently and narrowed his eyes, a look of distress growing on his face. "What I would give to be like them… I'd trade away my very being to live like they do. But fate has other plans for my wretched soul." Kioko clenched his teeth harder and at the same time began to clench his fists. A look of anger began to appear along with his distressed expression. "I am to never have such a life, not again, not ever. The moment I begin to live that way, the moment something good comes to my life, the moment I start to truly appreciate it… it is ripped away from me!" yelled Kioko as he clenched his fist completely.

His voice was now filled with anger and his hands were now trembling. "Why, why must I be forced to live this damned life?" Kioko looked up angrily toward the stars above. "Answer me!" screamed Kioko at the top of his lungs. There was a moment of silence as Kioko continued to glare up at the sky, as if waiting an answer. Kioko finally looked back down; his breathing was heavy and quick. The pirate gave a low growl and turned toward one of the palm trees supporting the hammock. "Damn it all!" screamed Kioko as he smashed his fist into the side of the tree, leaving a small crater in its trunk.

Kioko slowly pulled his fist back and lowered it to his side. He once again looked back down toward the ground, trying to regain his composure. Meanwhile, Lilo slowly came out of the back door and cautiously looked up toward the pirate. She took a big gulp and slowly started toward the steps leading up to the hammock. At first she walked carefully, taking gentle steps as to not alert him to her presence. But as she started up the long path of steps she began to walk with a more confident stride. Her shoulders were back and her head was held high as she neared the top of the steps. She felt as though she could handle anything at that moment; finally she reached the top of the steps. She stopped a few steps short of where Kioko was standing.

His head was still lowered and it didn't appear as though he knew she was there yet, though Lilo knew otherwise. She took another deep breathe as she prepared herself one last time. She still didn't know what to expect, she had never talked to Kioko when he was like this. But finally she got her thoughts settled and her anger under control.

"Kioko, there's something I need to ask you." said Lilo finally, her tone was strong and confident, but Kioko didn't even look at her. He kept his head lowered, looking down at the town below.

"What is it?" replied Kioko quietly.

There was a moment of silence before Lilo finally continued. "How could you?"

"How could I what?"

"How could you keep something like that from us?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Kioko with a little harshness in his voice.

A disheartened look swept over Lilo's face, mixing with her already angry expression as she shook her head slowly. "How could you not tell us…. How could you not tell us that you were out to kill Stitch?" yelled Lilo, causing Kioko to look up toward the horizon.

Kioko's eyes widened and a minute gasp escaped him, but he soon lowered his head once again. Realizing that it shouldn't be any big surprise that she had found out. He only wished she hadn't yet. "I… didn't know you were listening to that." said Kioko regretfully.

"It wouldn't have mattered if I had heard it or not, now wouldn't it? It's the truth, right?" Kioko didn't answer. "Tell me, is it the truth? Did you really just get close to our ohana just to kill Stitch?" shouted Lilo angrily.

Kioko raised his head and looked out toward the ocean; he closed his eyes and gave a sigh through his nose. "It was something that I planned on telling you, just not right now."

"When then huh?" shouted Lilo as she took a step toward Kioko. "When did you plan on telling us?"

"Preferably…" said Kioko as she slowly looked over his shoulder at Lilo. "On your death bed." finished Kioko with a serious tone in his voice.

Lilo's eyes widen slightly as she reverses the step she had just took. She was surprised by the pirates answer even though she knew she shouldn't be. "I'd expect such an answer form you. You're always acting like this. So cold and threatening, when ever you have to face something that you don't want to face." Lilo once again began to slowly shake her head disapprovingly. "I used to think you were so brave, but now I'm starting to realize that you're just a coward. Just relying on your ability to intimidate people to save yourself!"

"You could never understand the reasons behind what I do." said Kioko as his upper lip began to twitch slightly.

Lilo gave a huff. "You think I don't understand your motives behind all that you've done? You're hurt Kioko and all you're doing is taking your frustrations out on the world around you. We're the same Kioko, both of us lost our parents suddenly and tragically when we were young. I know why you act this way because I acted almost the same way before Stitch came along. I was mean, cold and felt isolated from the world and that's exactly how you are now."

Kioko's teeth were now bared slightly as his fist clenched itself tightly into a ball. "You think we are the same… well you're wrong!" growled Kioko his voice shaky. "You can't even begin to compare what I went through to your life. When your parents died you had an older sister to take care of you, to tell you that everything would be alright. To comfort you in your time of grief." Kioko paused for a moment. "But I had no one, Lilo! I was left on my own to suffer through the horrible nightmares that occurred all around me. You were not enslaved after your parents died, you weren't beaten everyday for no reason, and you did not have to watch your own people be killed before your eyes!"

Kioko looked once again over his shoulder at Lilo, a sneer on his face and an intense look of anger in his eyes. "You can't even begin to imagine what I went through. So it is impossible for a pathetic human like you to understand me!"

Even though a look of anger remained on Lilo's face, she began to feel tears building in her eyes. Her heart was racing as she continued to stare into the pirates dark eyes. His eyes were what stood out most to her; they were his most distinguishing feature. Though his eyes were black there had always been those times where they seemed so warm and comforting. Any girl would feel so loved when looked upon with those eyes. But then there were the other times when those eyes turned cold and forbidding. When looked upon by those eyes, death seemed all too close. And now he looked upon her with eyes that she had never seen before. Anger, sadness and regret all seemed to fill the pirate's eyes, sending a series of chills down her spine.

Finally Lilo looked down and broke eye contact with Kioko, yet her expression remained the same. "So, after all that suffering you went through…" started Lilo in a quiet voice of her own. "You choose to continue to make yourself suffer by keeping your true intentions hidden from your new family." Lilo looked back up toward Kioko. "Well you know what; you aren't the only one who suffers from such a thing! After all these years of thinking that you were just the greatest you turn around and reveal that you were only out to kill my best friend!"

"Can you only see the negatives?" asked Kioko forcefully. "You're so upset about me trying to kill Stitch that you're forgetting all the times I've saved his ass!"

"You say that like you've saved him hundreds of times! You've only saved him a few times and that's it! A few times from Hamsterviel and once from Pantucka!"

"And you think me trying to kill him once makes that all meaningless?" Kioko turns around and faces back toward the ocean. "Since you are out here for the truth I might as well share with you another little secret of mine. You remember when Stitch's molecules started to lose energy, do you not?"

Lilo's interest suddenly perked up, she quickly walked over next to Kioko. "Yeah, I do… what about it?"

"Do you remember how Jumba tried so desperately to build that device to restore Stitch's health?" Lilo nodded. "Do you remember sitting on top of that cliff while Stitch lay in that machine in front of you?" Lilo nodded once again. "You remember watching him die right in front of you?"

"Just what the hell are you getting at!" shouted Lilo angrily.

A forced smirk appeared on Kioko's face as he glanced over at her. "You think nothing I've done to help Stitch is significant? Do you really think you were the one who brought Stitch back to life?"

Lilo suddenly gave gasp as her eyes widened, realizing instantly what he was getting at. "But how, we didn't even know you then?"

"Just because you didn't know me doesn't mean I wasn't there. It was me, Lilo. I was the one who brought him back, I used my own energy to recharge his molecules! So instead of scorning me for trying to kill him once, you should be thanking me for saving your little friend!" shouted Kioko as he looked away from her.

Lilo was left with another look of shock on her face. The same look she had when she first over heard Cobra and Kioko talking. Silence feel over the two of them as Lilo just stared straight ahead. Tears began to roll down her cheeks slowly bring her out of her trance. Yet the look of shock and confusion remained unchanged on her face. She remained silent for another moment before finally being able to speak again.

"Why, why do you keep secrets like this away from us? We're your family and yet you seem to keep your entire life away from us!" shouted Lilo as the tears continued to poor down her face.

"I tell you only what is safe to tell you." replied Kioko his low, quiet voice returning.

"Safe to tell us? Kioko, we're Ohana there isn't anything you can't tell us! I know that you don't want to hurt any of us but keeping your whole reason for being here a secret… that's exactly what you're doing!" Kioko was back to were he was to begin with. His fists were clenched and his teeth clenched. "Why, Kioko… just tell me why you choose to do this!"

"I told you! You could never understand!" yelled Kioko as he wiped around toward Lilo. Suddenly a piercing, burning pain shot through Kioko's head, causing the pirate to gasp in pain slightly. He turned away from Lilo and held his head with his left hand as the pain swept through the rest of his body and back up to his head. However, despite the obviousness that he was in pain, Lilo seemed to not notice it; taking it as him just not wanting to here what she had to say.

She just continued to stare at him with sorrow filled eye as the pirate continued to struggle with the pain. "I thought I knew you, Kioko. I thought you were some one I could trust." said Lilo quietly as she held her arms close to her body. "But I was wrong."

Kioko was now had his shoulder hunched over slightly as the pain grew in intensity. Pulses of burning pain rippled through his body, emanating from his head and his heart. Kioko now gripped his chest with his right hand as his entire body seemed to become paralyzed by the pain. His legs began to tremble under him and he verged on collapsing to his knees. Yet Lilo still did not show a once of concern for him, how could she anyway? He had been acting for so long in front of her; she just instantly assumed this to be another act.

"I thought… I used to believe that every one has good in them some where…" started Lilo as a look of frustration and anger once again filled her face. "But… you… you proved me wrong!" yelled Lilo angrily.

Lilo suddenly raised her hand and brought it down forcefully on Kioko's cheek. At that very moment Kioko's eye shot open with a look of shock, yet his left hand stayed in place over his left eye and his right over his heart. The pain in his body suddenly condensed into his head and heart, the pain was now so blinding that Kioko could no longer tell if he was in pain or not. Kioko slowly looked up toward Lilo with his uncovered eye, just as the girl gave a huff, turned and stormed off down the stairs.

As soon as she did Kioko lowered his hands and slowly began turning toward her. She was a half way to the house when Kioko was facing completely toward her, the moonlight reveling just why he had been holding the left side of his head.

The skin on the left side of his face had turned a dull grey color; his left eye now held a tiny red iris, claws now sat upon his finger tips and his teeth had grown sharp. Suddenly, as if on it's own Kioko's left arm began rising up toward Lilo pointing it's palm at her back. A pained and strained look came over Kioko's face as his right arm came up and grasped onto his left wrist. Lilo was almost to the bottom of the steps as a small yellow and red orb of energy formed in front of Kioko's hand. Kioko clenched his teeth as he seemed to struggle against his left side. The orb formed to a size slightly smaller then a baseball, flashes of red and yellow rippled through it, struggling with each other just as Kioko was with his own mind.

'You're weak…' echoed a sinister voice through Kioko's head. 'You're weak… if you choose to prove me wrong… then kill her.'

Lilo was now almost to the bottom step. 'I… can't.' thought Kioko as he struggled to keep control.

'Why can't you? Is it because you seek comfort in her? Do you seek comfort in all of them?' asked the voice. 'To seek comfort in those who are lesser then ones own self is foolish. The only comfort that the strong may gain from the weak is the comforting feeling of weak blood on their hands.'

'You're wrong; the spilling of blood is not the only comfort that may be found in them.' replied Kioko, his thoughts as strained as his body.

'To seek any other comfort in them is to give in to them… to become one of them. To become weak.' mocked the voice. 'You have become weak. You are like a blade dulled by a worthless love.'

Lilo was now off the steps and just a few yards away from the back door. She had her arms folded across her chest and even form such a distance her angry and saddened expression was still visible. Kioko's arms were shaking as he fought against himself. The pirate closed his eyes as he put every once of strength he had into restraining his own power. Beads of sweat began to slowly roll down his face as he tightened his grip on his left arm. Lilo was now almost with in arms length of the door knob.

'I' am not weak.' thought Kioko.

'Then prove it to me. Strike her down now! I want to see her bleed.' commanded the voice as its tone became filled with evident blood lust.

Kioko winced painfully as he felt the power slowly break through him. Lilo reached the door and slowly opened it, at the same time wiping her face of the few tears that had escaped her. She paused for a moment as she tried to regain her composure before stepping into the door way.

'Kill her now! Now!' screamed the voice.

Kioko's eyes shot open and at the same time the red and yellow orb blasted down toward its target. The moment seem to play out in slow motion as Kioko stared down at Lilo and then at the orb of his own energy rocketing toward her. Kioko's eyes widened as he watched Lilo step into the house and close the door behind her. Right as she did the orb of energy slammed into the light fixture above the door, blowing it too pieces and sending a shower of sparks to the ground.

Kioko's arms suddenly went limp at his sides and the demonic voice fell silent. An exhausted expression washed over Kioko's face as he fell to his knees. His breathing was heavy as he then fell forward, being to close to the edge he tumbled down the steps like a limp rag doll. He landed hard at the base of the stairs, lying on his stomach he lay motionless except his chest quickly rising and falling. His left side was back to normal and he could feel himself regaining control. He remained silent and still for minutes, slowly rebuilding his strength and thinking over what had just happened. Every word that Lilo had said was ringing in his mind like a thousand tiny bells.

A pained expression sat upon his face as he rolled his head over and stared down toward the drive way. His breathing began to settle a bit faster now that he wasn't breathing in dirt. After a moment he carefully began to slide his arms in front of him. He winced in pain and struggle as he began pushing himself up. It felt like his body weighed a million tons as he gradually made it up to his hands and knees. He stopped for a few seconds before giving a growl and quickly pushing himself up onto his feet. He pushed up and brought himself to stand, but it was all too quick, his legs lost their stability and he stumbled forward and slammed his shoulder into the side of the house.

His breathing was once again exhausted as he leaned against the house for support. His legs trembled underneath him as he now fought against going unconscious from exhaustion. He was facing the backdoor, shattered glass and plastic lay around the bottom of the door. His sight shifted form blurry to clear a few times before adjusting themselves properly. From where he was he could barley make out the voices of those inside, all seemed so happy. Kioko winced, clenching his teeth together as he some how managed to start walking/sliding toward the door. Still leaning against the house he peered into the house through the glass window of the door.

He could just see into the living room of the house, where Stitch, Angel, Nani, Jumba, Pleakly and now Lilo all sat. Lilo was sitting on the couch next to Stitch and appeared to be laughing at something. It surprised the pirate at just how fast she was able to hide all of the feelings she had just been aiming towards him. A disheartened look appeared on Kioko's face as his gaze fell upon Lilo. She no longer seemed like the care free girl that he had known her to be just a few hours before; she was now nothing more then just another soul scorched by his presence, just another victim.

'Lilo Pelekai,' thought Kioko his thoughts no longer strained. 'You foolish girl. It took you all of these years just to see the truth about those around you. It's ridiculous to believe that all have good in them and I'm sure you realize that now.'

Kioko turned away from the door and rested his back against the house. 'You were right when you said I was proof that not all have good in them. Even though I may appear kind and caring at times… it is nothing but an illusion.' Kioko lowered his head. 'The good that was inside me… is long gone. I sold it all away, and any that had remained has now turned to pure malevolence. I no longer have a soul and I am more worthless then the dirt beneath your feet.'

Kioko turned and began to walk away toward the drive way, still leaning on the house. His eyes now empty of any warmth he stared like he was half dead. 'I am not worthy of having a loving home and family. My existence is stained with blood and my mind holds in it nothing of purity. I am not fit to receive any warmth from you or any one else. Death it would seem is the only thing I am fit for.'

Kioko now slowly made his way down onto the drive way. Now with out anything to lean on he struggled to keep on his feet. His arms were limp and he was hunched over slightly as he began to make what would certainly be a slow trek home.

'I cannot say that I am sorry for what I've done, because it is nothing that I can apologize for. You've now seen what I'm truly like and there will be no changing it. I am not like any of those experiments. No matter how much any of us may want it… this is who I am now and will always be… there is no changing for me.'

With out even one last glance Kioko sluggishly made his way down the drive, turned and disappeared into the dark forest. No one noticed him and he preferred it that way.

**Well that's the end of this dramatic chapter! My plans on this story keep changing around so expect another 2 chapters! Possibly even three, but we'll just have to see. Anyway, Happy thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate it! Please Review.**


	9. Demon Within

Holidays

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 9: Demon Within

**(Warning: This chapter contains blood, violence and graphic images)**

The day was bright and sunny on the island of Kauai, it was warm and almost every one was out and about. Even Kioko decided to take advantage of the day to go and take one last look around the town, perhaps even get a few souvenirs. He could no longer feel the affects that his darker half had on him the previous night. If any thing he felt refreshed, relieved almost, though he didn't know exactly why. But he didn't bother thinking about it too much, the fact that he was leaving that evening was all that was on his mind.

As he walked into the center of town he continued to go over his mental checklist of all the things that he needed to have done before he left. Everything he could think of seemed to be taken care of, which left him with a lot of free time. He decided to stop by a few of the shops and pick up a few things for his trip, snacks and reading material for one, even if it was only a half an hour trip. After an hour or so of shopping the pirate stopped by a small Italian restaurant for lunch. He had been there many times before, matter of fact he had been going there since it first opened in the 50's. He knew the owner very well and the two often engaged in conversations. But this time Kioko noticed something different about the man, he spoke in a very monotone voice and it seemed almost muffled.

This struck him as very odd considering the man usually had a very expressive voice. However Kioko merely ignored it, assuming that perhaps he was just sick. After he finished his meal Kioko paid the bill and quickly left. But as he exited the door and turned down the side walk a small man quickly ran up to him with his arms high in the air. The man had a long white beard, a wrinkled face and was dressed like a Christian pastor. The man was yelling like he was charging into battle.

"Bless you my son!" shouted the man as he slapped his hands onto Kioko's chest. "Bless you and may God have mercy on your soul!" Kioko stared at the man like he was crazy as the small man ran around him and off down the street yelling the whole time.

Kioko shook his head as the man disappeared around a corner. "Maybe I'm leaving just in time, this place is starting to attract the craziest people." said Kioko to himself as he started off down the street.

As Kioko made his way down the side walk he suddenly noticed more and more people walking along the side walk. Until it was almost like the side walks of a major city. People were bumping into him constantly, making him feel like he was in a bumper car arena. Everyone also seemed to be staring at him as he walked by, almost glaring at him. The pirate began looking around confusingly, noticing that the other side of the street was completely empty of people. It seemed like the closer Kioko looked at it the more strange things started to catch his attention. It was starting to make the pirate nervous for some reason.

He began to push his way through the crowd trying to get away as a feeling of anxiousness began to fill inside of him. He was almost knocking people over as he neared the end of the sidewalk, but suddenly his eyes caught the eyes of a man glaring up at him. Kioko's eyes widened as he realized a startling fact. They all had dead eyes; each and every one of them had lifeless looks in their eyes, almost as if they were all half dead. The anxiousness in Kioko's gut grew even more as he now felt their empty glares falling upon him, almost accusingly. Finally Kioko managed to break through the crowd; he turned the corner and found the rest of the sidewalk to be completely empty.

A confused look appeared on Kioko's face as he stared down the barren street. He stood staring for a moment before quickly looking back around the corner, giving a small gasp as he found the once bustling path completely empty. Kioko quickly whipped himself his back against the wall, his breathing became heavy as if he had just run ten hundred miles and his eyes were wide. He looked around with an almost frightened look on his face, slowly realizing more and more things weren't as they were supposed to be. The air was still, as if there weren't any air at all. He couldn't feel a thing, he could not feel the temperature of the island, he could not feel the wall against his back; he couldn't feel anything. He could only feel his anxiety growing exponentially inside of him.

It was like a drum, thumping away in his mind, matching pace with his heart beats. Slowly the drumming became louder and louder, making him wince in discomfort. The feeling grew and so did the noise, Kioko had to hold his head as it felt like the beating was going to knock his head right off his shoulders. Suddenly the noise gave one loud burst and then feel dead silent. But right as it did the voice of a small girl snapped the pirate out of his pained trance.

"Hi, mister!" chirped the young girl. Kioko lowered his hands and looked down at the girl. She was a beautiful little girl, with long brown hair, big blue eyes and she was wearing a little pink dress. She held a light brown teddy bear under one arm while holding on to her mothers hand with the other. Yet Kioko could not see the mother, all he saw was her legs and the bottom of the blue dress she was wearing. He tried to shift his eyes toward her but he couldn't look away from the little girl, it was like he was paralyzed. "It's nice out today, isn't it?" asked the little girl with a bright smile on her face.

"Ye… yeah, it is." answered Kioko feeling like he had to force the words out.

"I like it when it's nice out," blurted the girl as she looked to the sky "It's so easy to forget your problems and the future seems so bright." smiled the girl as she looked back to Kioko. "Well I have to go, see you later, mister."

With that the girl's mother began to walk away, pulling the girl along with her. Kioko suddenly felt himself free of what ever had been keeping him from looking at the mother. He quickly turned around and looked toward the two but the mother was already around the corner. The girl gave Kioko one last big smile before disappearing around the corner as well. Kioko was left staring at the corner for a few moments, a look of utter confusion on his face as he tried to figure out what in the world was going on. He suddenly remembered that all the people who had been on that street had vanished. He had to see if the mother and daughter had as well, but as he took a step forward a blinding flash of light stopped him in his tracks.

It was as if a giant flash light has just been turned on right in front of his eyes. Kioko quickly put his hands over his eyes to shield them from the light. But it was too late for that, multicolored circles floated around in his eyes and his eyes hurt from the sudden flash. He thought it nothing more then an annoyance as he rubbed his sore eyes. But suddenly the silence he had been hearing slowly faded away into a rumbling and crackling sound. His eyes finally began to adjust themselves and Kioko slowly began to lower his hands. His eyes focused and brought the world back into a clear view, but what Kioko now saw made his drop slightly and his eyes widen.

The beautiful town of Kokoua was now nothing but rubble. Every building in sight was now nothing but burning rubble, including the one Kioko was standing next to. Kioko slowly began looking around, barely able to comprehend what he was seeing. The sky was blood red with ominous black clouds floating over head. Fires burned every where and a horrific odor filled the air. It was an apocalyptic scene a million times more gruesome then any movie. Kioko took a few shaky steps forward as he looked upon the devastation. He slowly reached what was left of the corner and turned down the next street. He gave an almost sickly gasp as the full extent; the true carnage of what had happened became clear. Before him, lying in the street were the towns people, slaughtered like animals. Hundreds of bodies were strewn across the street, pools, rivers of crimson blood pouring from their now lifeless bodies.

Severed limbs and other body parts lay every where; there was hardly an inch of ground that didn't have a piece of some ones life upon it. The pirates breath was shallow as he almost hesitantly began walking down the blood covered sidewalk. Brick, wood and glass appeared among the bodies as Kioko made his way down the street. Not a single building was left; it was obvious that no one in side of the buildings had been spared either as arms and legs stuck up through the burning debris. The smell of burning flesh filled Kioko's nostrils almost making him gag, as he continued to look at the dead bodies. Some weren't even bodies, but skeletons, charred skeletons. No one had been spared, the young, the old they were all dead, killed in gruesome ways. Kioko had to look away as he passed a man who had been sliced in half.

He felt sick to his stomach as he made his way through the grim scene, though he didn't know why. He had seen scenes like this many times through his life and never before had it made him feel like this. He had never been so disgusted by it; it was almost painful to him. Kioko forced himself to look up at a headless body that had been impaled on a lamp post, but again it almost made him gag. Kioko looked further up toward the crimson sky, trying to keep himself from seeing what lay around him. There was no trace of the sun in the sky; it seemed to glow on its own, giving the land a hellish haze. One question now appeared in his mind, who or what could have done this? His first thought was that something had gone wrong with the experiments, simply because he saw no experiments lying among the dead.

He knew that under the right influence the experiments could do something like this, but then one detail dropped the entire idea. The crimson sky, no experiment could turn the sky such a color, it would take a truly malevolent soul, a truly sinister power to do something like that and none of the experiments had such a soul or power. Kioko found himself almost entranced by the sky's sinister glow, so much so that he was not fully aware of what was in front of him. Suddenly Kioko gave a startled gasp as his foot suddenly began to slide down a steep embankment. The pirate reacted quickly, leaping backwards and away from the steep decline. Then as he looked forward and down he saw it, a massive trench slicing right through the center of town.

Kioko's eyes widened once more as he looked almost fearfully upon the deep trench. The ground around it was scorched and cracked. The pirates' eyes followed the path of the trench as it carved a path straight across the island. Kioko's breathing suddenly became heavy as he took a few shaky steps backward. After a few steps he bumped into the remains of a building, the contact startled him and caused him to quickly turn and face what ever he bumped into. In front of him was part of a brick wall with a small piece of glass still attached were a window had been. A confused look appeared on Kioko's face as he saw, in his reflection, that the front of his coat was wet. He slowly reached up and placed his hands across the wet spot of his coat.

He pulled his hands away and looked down at them. His eyes widened again as he saw his hands wet with a crimson liquid, blood. Kioko quickly looked down at his coat and saw two bloody hand prints on his chest, in the exact same spots were the old preacher had rested his hands. It took him only a moment to realize this and in a flash he ripped his coat off and tossed it aside. He once again took a couple frightened steps back. He couldn't understand any of it, how did all of this happen; the question still burned in his mind. Why was he covered in the blood of a man who had been alive just a few moments before? He felt overwhelmed by everything, the horrid scene around him, the questions that filled his mind and the feeling of anxiety that still hung around him.

Suddenly the feeling of something soft under his foot caused Kioko to nearly jump into the air. The pirate quickly turned and looked down at the ground to find a small teddy bear that looked frightfully similar to the one the little girl had. But he quickly realized that it was indeed her bear. The only thing Kioko could do was pray that that small girl had been spared as he knelt down to the bear. He reached down and carefully picked up the bear, but he quickly dropped it to the ground with a startled yelp. The bear was soaking wet, drenched in blood just like his coat had been. A saddened look swept over his face as Kioko looked at his hand and saw new blood upon it. The pirate slowly closed his fist and then looked up as something caught his eye ahead of him.

It was a small shred of pink fabric, snared on a sharp poll sticking out of a pile of rubble. Kioko's eyes lowered themselves back down to the bear at his feet. In an act that no one would ever expect from him, he carefully picked up the bear, stood up and walked over to the pile of rubble. He came to a stop in front of the pile, staring at the shred of pink cloth for a moment before looking down at the bear in his hands. He squeezed it slightly; causing blood to run out of it like water out of a sponge the blood ran down his arm and covered his hand. In that moment, as Kioko knelt down and tenderly placed the bear at the base of the rubble, all of the anxiety and fear seemed to leave him. Though he didn't know why, he felt entirely at peace. A serene feeling that he had not felt in many hundreds if not thousands of years.

But in an instant that serene feeling vanished as a massive explosion shook the ground beneath his feet. Kioko was suddenly snapped back to reality, the anxiety and fear rushing back to him like a rushing river. He quickly got to his feet and spun around to face the direction that the noise had come from. The boy gave a terrified gasp as he saw a column of smoke rising from a very familiar spot on a hill outside of town, it was the Pelekai house. Without so much as a second thought Kioko burst off in a sprint toward the house. But another problem soon arose, his legs felt heavy and he found himself running at barely a normal human pace. He clamored down into the trench in front of him and up the other side before continuing toward the house.

He mumbled curses as he grew frustrated with his slow pace. He was trying as hard as he could to run faster, but it was of no use, something was binding his movements. It took what seemed like forever just to get down the street to the end of the driveway. As he started running up the dirt path he suddenly felt himself regaining control and he started to run faster. It still wasn't as fast as he wished but it was getting him there sooner none the less. Though even at his faster pace it still took him two full minutes to get up the drive way. But he soon wished he hadn't been in such a rush; as he reached the top of the drive way a grisly site appeared before him. The once beautiful house was now nothing but a giant bonfire, pieces of wood and contents from the house littered the ground, and so did its former occupants.

Kioko suddenly felt his nauseated, gagging feeling coming back to him as he looked upon the carnage. His eyes fell onto a pile of bodies at the bottom of the front steps. Kioko began to slowly walk toward the house, his eyes fixed on the bodies. His entire body trembled and his breathe was shaky as bodies became clearer. The pirate's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly; the entire family was slaughtered. Nani was lying on top of the pile with a gapping hole in her chest and a deep gash across her throat. Jumba was below her, his body shredded, muscle and organs hang out of deep slashes across his body. Pleakly was at the bottom, snapped in half like a twig and his large eye missing.

All of them were just piled at the bottom of the steps like trash, but Kioko suddenly noticed that not all of the family was here. Lilo, Stitch, Angel and the kids were all missing. But suddenly a small moan caught Kioko's attention, a small flash of hope swept through the pirate as he wiped around. Just a few yards away, a small pile of boards were moving a little. Kioko quickly ran over to the pile of wood and slid down on his knees, stopping in front of the moaning pile. He quickly began to remove the wood piece by piece, hope filling him more and more as well as anticipation to see who it was. Finally the last piece of wood was removed, and Kioko gave a small sigh of relief as he found Stitch lying on his back facing up. The small blue alien had numerous cuts all over his body; his extra arms, quills and antenna were out. However his breathing was shallow and his eyes were barely able to stay open.

"Stitch," blurted Kioko, half excited to have found some one else alive and half scared about what had happened. "Stitch, what happened here?" asked Kioko as he reached down and slowly began picking the alien up.

But he suddenly felt something wet and warm running down his hands and he quickly set Stitch back down on the ground. Kioko's expression of fear grew as he pulled his hands out from under the experiment, finding his hands now covered in a dark red blood. Kioko's hands continued to tremble as he reached down and carefully rolled Stitch onto his side. Kioko abruptly clenched his teeth in disgust as he found Stitch lower right arm missing from its socket, leaving nothing but a bloody stump. The poor experiment also had his back almost entirely torn away. The pirate rolled Stitch back onto his back and looked down at him fearfully.

"Stitch…" blurted Kioko almost sounding like he was going to cry.

The tiny experiment looked up at him and slowly began raising his paw toward him. "Kio…" started Stitch, his voice weak and distant. But before he could finish, Stitch's raised paw fell limp, and a deathly sigh escaped him. Kioko's fearful expression was now mixed with shock and confusion as Stitch's head rolled to the side a small trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth.

The pirate couldn't believe what he was seeing, yet he couldn't deny it either. Everyone was dead and he couldn't escape the feeling that it was his fault. As Kioko stared down at Stitch's now lifeless body, old feelings began to bubble up inside. The loneliness, the feeling that something that you so desperately wanted was out of reach. The feeling that even if you were to obtain your deepest desire, it would only be taken from you. The feeling of peace once again over came Kioko, his surroundings all fell silent. But this peace was different, it held a sinister feeling to it, a feeling that Kioko found frighteningly familiar.

That sinister peace was broken by an even more sinister laugh that seemed to echo through the devastated land. Kioko now recognized it fully and he now prayed that he was wrong about it. "What a pathetic creature he was, don't you agree?" asked the voice, seeming to come from up ahead. Kioko slowly looked up toward the house, his eyes filled with fear. And in an instant his fears were met as a figure appeared on the top of the steps, gazing into the massive fire that was once a house. The figure was dressed in the same outfit that he wore, a long black and red coat, with black pants, shirt and knee high boots. But that's where the similarities ended, for the figure held a far more sinister presence.

The figure turned slightly and looked over his shoulder down at Kioko; his face was exactly the same save his dark grey skin, long, sharp canine teeth which stuck out from under his upper lip slightly and the look of pure blood lust in his eyes. Kioko's breathing was short and heavy as he looked up fearfully at his evil duplicate.

"You…" muttered Kioko with a frightened tone, hiding the anger in his voice.

A smirk grew across the evil pirates face, soaking in Kioko's fearful expression. "Did you know that foolish girl thought he could save her and her precious Ohana or what ever they call it?" chuckled Kioko's eviler half as he nodded towards Stitch's lifeless body. "How pathetic she was with all of that ridiculous hope."

Kioko gave a small gasp as he clenched his teeth together. "Lilo, what did you do with her and the others? Where are they?" shouted Kioko angrily, yet still not completely at grips with what was going on.

The evil pirates smirk grew to a full sickeningly evil grin. "Oh no need to worry about them, they won't be bothering you anymore. They're nice and warm inside."

The evil Kioko pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward the burning house. Kioko's eyes lost all of their hope and his jaw now hung open. "You killed them, you killed them all." started Kioko, his voice now suddenly weak and frail. "Lilo, Oki, Kina, Ashley… Angel. They're all gone."

"Oh no, no… one of them is still very much a live." said the evil pirate his grin easing back down into a smirk. A look of relief appeared on Kioko's face at that moment, feeling a little more at ease. The evil pirates smirk grew a little more, he turned to face Kioko. "Say hello now."

Kioko's evil side slowly raised something up into the air with his left hand. Kioko's heart skipped a beat as he instantly recognized the figure as being Angel. Her body was limp and her breathing was light, she was exhausted. Her body was covered in burns and scratches, her eyes were barely open. His evil side was holding her by the scruff of the neck and his sharp claws were buried in her skin, causing light red blood to run down his arm.

Kioko's eyes seemed to lighten a little and the beginnings of a smile started to cross his lips. "A… Angel." muttered Kioko almost cheerfully.

The tiny experiment was silent for a moment before slowly raising her head up to look down at Kioko. But when she did, a small gasp of fright escaped Kioko. The experiments gaze sent a chill through his body a she looked into her eyes. Those beautiful black eyes that always held such warmth and such a sense of innocence, now held nothing. Her eyes were empty of any life what so ever, she was but a shell, her soul gone from her. Kioko found himself trembling once again, finding the look in her eyes all too familiar. Nothing but sadness now seemed to fill the pink experiments expression, hopelessness like no other. Yet at the same time, those eyes seemed to be accusing him, blaming him for everything.

"Kioko… why, why did you do this?" blurted Angel finally. Her voice was weak and filled with the same sadness that was in her eyes.

"No, Angel… I didn't…" stuttered Kioko as he shook his head slightly.

"Why did you do this, Kioko? Why did you betray us?" asked Angel again, her voice becoming scornful.

Kioko shook his head even more as he crawled a few feet closer to the house. "No, Angel… I didn't betray you. I didn't do this!" shouted Kioko his voice starting to become desperate.

"You killed us, Kioko. You killed us… all of us."

"It wasn't me! It wasn't me!" yelled Kioko his voice cracking a little as he held himself back from sobbing.

"I thought you cared about us." said Angel, her voice no longer accusing but now holding a saddened and disappointed sound. "I thought you cared about me."

"I… do care," replied Kioko as he extended his shaky arm up toward her. "I do care about you, about all of you. I do."

At that moment Angel's gaze seemed to darken and grow even more disheartened. "Liar." whispered Angel, sounding heart broken.

A shocked expression made itself clear once again on Kioko's face as he tried to make sense of her reaction. It felt like a metal door had just been slammed down in between him and the only thing that gave him even the smallest bit of hope in life. Both of them now fell silent, their gazes remaining fixed on each other. Hers saddened and accusing and his, shocked and even hurt. The only sound around them was the sound of crackling wood, burning in the house. But soon the sinister voice of Kioko's blood thirsty side broke through the silence between them, yet still not breaking their eye contact.

"Enough of this sentimentality, you're making me sick." blurted the evil pirate. "It's time to say good bye." the same sickeningly evil smirk that had been on his face before appeared again as the evil pirate pulled his right hand back. Arching his fingers to expose his sharp claws his hand swept forward. It all happened in slow motion as his claws hit their mark on Angel's back.

In an instant the color completely drained from Kioko's face, his pupils shrunk down to the same minute size as his evil sides. His arm lowered and his heart seemed to stop as he watched the blood fly into the air and splatter onto everything nearby. It felt as though he had died at that moment, he felt nothing, not the ground under him not the hot, muggy air, nothing. Only the growing uneasiness inside of him, but as the world seemed to return to normal speed, as the feelings returned, the gagging and nauseated feeling returned in full force. It overwhelmed him, and as he watched his evil side toss the now shredded body of his Angel down onto the pile of bodies, he lost it, planting his arm back down, lowering his head and suddenly getting sick on the ground. He kept his eyes closed as tight as possible, no longer wanting to see the carnage that lay before him. He coughed a few times as he tried to settle himself; suddenly the sound of boots walking up to him caught his attention. The sound stopped right in front of him, he looked up slowly trying to keep his eyes away from the house.

After a moment he was staring straight up at his evil side, who was standing over him with the same heartless smirk on his face. For the first time a look of anger began to appear on Kioko's face as he furrowed his brow, but it held little power as his body continued to tremble and his breathing remained forced and heavy. His evil side remained silent as he stared down at him, enjoying every moment of watching him suffer.

"You're pathetic," blurted the evil pirate finally. "You're even weaker then I thought. Letting such trivial things bother you like this. You should be rejoicing, with them out of the way you can focus on your true purpose. You can stop trying to live a life that is not yours."

"What… what are you talking about?" growled Kioko as he coughed a few more times.

His evil side gave a cruel chuckle. "Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You are a traitor, but not to those worthless humans."

"I am not a traitor."

"Oh but you are. Every moment you spent with those human insects… you were betraying your purpose, betraying the one who created us." grinned the evil pirate.

A sharp gasp escaped Kioko as fear once again overtook his face.

"Trying to live a life that does not belong to you is more evil then anything even I have ever done." continued the evil pirate. "It's pathetic, trying to hide the truth from yourself, trying to believe that you are the dominant. When you're nothing but a tool for him to use as he pleases, just as I am."

Kioko clenched his teeth and looked down, closing his eyes tightly once more. "I belong to no one!" shouted Kioko.

"Deny it all you want, the truth remains…" chuckled the evil pirate. "You are not Kioko."

Kioko's jaw dropped open and the look of shock returned to his face.

"You have Kioko's appearance, you have his voice, you hold all of his memories in your head… but you are not Kioko. A more appropriate name for you would be Poku, or as they would say on Earth… a vessel. You're nothing but a container."

"No, I'm not…" started Kioko, his voice shaky.

The evil pirates smirk grew to a small grin. "You hold all of the bad memories that the real Kioko uses to feed his power, you are his energy source and nothing more. And yet you try so desperately to find a life of your own, trying to give yourself fond memories. It's disgusting the things I have to watch you do. Watching you act so loving makes my job harder for me. After all I was created to protect you, to protect Kioko's source of energy. But by filling your head with fond memories you weaken his power source, you begin to break down the boarders that keep all of us in our place!" shouted the evil pirate, sounding angry. "I am forced to protect you, protect the energy source, but what do I do when the energy source is the problem? I pondered this question for years and I finally came to a solution."

Kioko slowly looked back up at him; anger now over took his expression as well as his mind. "Shut up…" growled Kioko.

"I realized that the problem solves itself, I've watched it happen many times before. It's you; you fix the problem by eliminating all that you hold dear." Kioko yet again shouted his gaze down toward ther ground, gritting his teeth together and holding his eyes shut. "I don't know how, but it's always you… you are always the reason for their deaths. Even if you're not directly responsible, you are always the cause, you get who ever you care about killed."

Kioko suddenly reached up and held his head between his hands, as if those words had pierced straight into him. It was like the floodgates had been opened now, every terrible memory of those Kioko had even begun to care about came rushing back. The memories of how they died, through them Kioko knew undoubtedly that his evil side was right. He had always been the cause, it was because of him that his parents had been shot; it was because of him that the pirates who trained him had been killed. Every person Kioko had ever grown attached to even a little had died because of him. It was as if his presence was a death sentence. They always died, but the only person who never died, the only person he wished would die… was himself.

"I believe it is a way of control…" blurted Kioko's other half. "That deathly curse that seems to hang over your head is all meant to keep those negative feelings, that hopelessness and overwhelming loneliness alive with in you. So that the real Kioko can maintain his strength, his power."

Kioko bent over slightly resting his forehead on the dirt while keeping his hands tightly on his head. His second half looked on with sadistic satisfaction as his weaker counterpart suffered with all of the painful memories. After a few silent minutes he decided to make him suffer even more, by driving home the one fact that Kioko didn't want to hear.

"It'll happen again you know. This new family of yours will die, they'll all die and it'll be your fault. Every one of them, and that Angel you seem oh so attached too… she'll get it the worst, a slow and painful death." hissed Kioko's evil side, now feeding himself on Kioko's pain.

Suddenly Kioko's hands slammed onto the ground as he gave a deep growl. His body disappeared into mid-air and instantly appeared in the air above his evil side. The demonic pirate looked up with an arrogant smirk on his face, almost amused by Kioko. Kioko began falling straight toward his evil doppelganger; his fist was cocked back and a look of pure rage in his eyes. "You bastard, I'll kill you right here and now!" yelled Kioko as he neared his target.

Kioko threw his fist forward with as much strength as he could find, aiming right at the evil pirates face. But as soon as he threw the punch, the sinister pirate extended his left hand and stopped the punch with ease. The force of the collision caused the evil pirate to sink into the ground a few inches, shattering the ground around him and sending a cloud of dust into the air. Stitch's lifeless body was flung into the air as the ground shattered and shifted beneath him. The entire cliff seemed like it was going to collapse and yet Kioko's evil side acted as if it were nothing. Kioko gave a small gasp as his attack was stopped at arms length; he winced as the pirate tightened his grip on his fist.

"You fool, did you forget… I'm stronger then you." said the pirate menacingly as he released Kioko's fist and grabbed onto his wrist.

Another gasp escaped Kioko as he was yanked past his evil side. In an instant the evil pirates boot flew up and slammed into Kioko's gut, knocking all of the breath out of him and sending him flying straight up into the air. His evil side quickly followed, disappearing and immediately reappearing right above Kioko. He raised his leg and slammed the heel of his boot into Kioko's back rocketing him back down toward the ground. The evil pirates speed was amazing as he once again appeared right below Kioko. Right as he was about to slam into the ground, his evil side slammed his elbow into his cheek. Kioko's helpless body was now flying horizontally toward the forest, but the merciless pirate appeared above him and slammed his fist into Kioko's gut. Kioko stopped dead in his tracks and slammed into the ground with devastating force. The cliff was once again rocked as the ground was blasted away.

Slowly the dust cleared and revealed Kioko lying on his back in a large crater. Blood was running from the corners of his mouth and he had numerous cuts all over his arms and face. The evil pirate gave a satisfied chuckle as he stepped down into the crater, grabbed Kioko by the collar and tossed him out of the crater. Kioko landed on his face, sliding through the dirt, coming to a rest with his head lying on his arms. Surprisingly, Kioko almost instantly began pushing himself up, clenching his teeth as pain racked his body from head to toe. The other Kioko's chuckle grew to an amused laugh as he walked toward him.

"How sad, is that all the strength you have, is that all you can do to avenge their deaths?" Kioko had made it up on his hands and knees as his evil side walked around in front of him. "Your weakness disgusts me."

The disdain in the pirate's voice made Kioko's blood boil. He wanted nothing but to get to his feet and kill that demon, but his body would not move the way he wanted. The only thing he could do was mutter curses through his gritted teeth. "You bastard, you're the weak one," growled Kioko, causing the pirate to sneer. "If you're so strong, how is it that you haven't freed yourself from me, huh? Why is it that one with such overwhelming power like yours, can't escape?" questioned Kioko with a small smirk of his own.

The demon pirate bared his teeth angrily, but soon gave another twisted smile as he looked down at the hand he used to kill Angel, the one still covered in her blood. He looked back down at Kioko and in a flash wrapped the bloody hand around Kioko's face. Kioko's eyes shot open fearfully and a muffled gasp was heard as the pirate's blood covered hand covered his mouth. A frantic expression sat on Kioko's face as he tasted Angel blood passing through his lips. The sadistic look intensified in the evil pirate's eyes as he lifted Kioko up into the air, still holding him by the face. Kioko reached up and grabbed onto the pirates arm, desperately trying to free himself from his grasp. But it was no use; the demons vice like grip had Kioko firmly by the face.

"Why haven't I escaped, you ask? Why? Because I haven't seen you suffer enough. If I freed myself I wouldn't have the front row seat to watch your misery grow." The pirate tightened his grip on Kioko's face, causing him to wince painfully. "I want to be there when they die; I want to be there when you kill them; I want to watch them die. I want to be there to savor every moment of your suffering and theirs. To see you kill the ones you hold dear would just make my existence all worth while."

Kioko closed his eyes and tried to turn away, trying to deny all that had heard. But he wasn't going anywhere; his evil side wouldn't let him. "It will happen, it is inevitable. They will die just as everyone else has and in some way shape or form, directly or indirectly, you will be responsible." grinned the pirate with delight. "Try and run if you want, but their fates have been sealed." the pirate chuckled slightly as he carried Kioko over to the nearby cliff. "I especially want to see the look on your face when you kill that annoying little pink experiment you so affectionately call Angel. It'll be like watching your parents die all over again, but with the added satisfaction of knowing that you are the one who did it." the pirate came to a stop and turned his back to the cliff. "But you know, even more precious then the look on your face would be the look on hers."

A deep growl now emanated from Kioko's throat as he glared down at the demon. His evil side paused for a moment to smile up at him, finding his anger so enjoyable. After all to have some one so much weaker trying to be threatening was something he found outrageously humorous.

"What a delicious look she would have on her face, just before you strike her down. The fear and the feelings of betrayal that would be in those big black eyes of hers, so wonderful. I wish that moment would last forever, I would never grow tired of it." the demon gave one last laugh. "Face it, it's inevitable... they're doomed just like this planet will be doomed to the same fate that so many others have fallen too. Just look out to the horizon and see what wonderful things you will be responsible for in the future."

Kioko gave the pirate a final glare and looked out toward the ocean. To his shock, the once beautiful green and blue planet had changed. Where the oceans of clear blue water had been, an endless ocean of lava now boiled. The distant islands were now nothing but giant columns of smoke and flame, the sky sharing that same red and black color. The horizon held a orange glow, telling the terrible story that all had been lost. Kioko's shock soon faded, he had seen this many times before, he had made many earth-like planets into this nightmare. In the wake of the shock, a sense of sadness took its place.

"Do you remember what they used to say?" blurted the evil pirate. Kioko shifted his gaze back down to the demon. "The ground shall be covered in the flesh of the fallen, the skies shall turn to blood, water shall turn to fire, love shall turn to hate, life shall turn to death and suffering shall be the eternal rule. Oh how I long to hear those words to be spoken again and when you finally destroy that 'family' of yours… they will be spoken once again and the galaxy shall be reminded of it's nightmares once again."

With that the demon pirate tossed Kioko forward. Kioko slides through the dirt and finally stops on his elbows, so that he was propped up to face his evil side. A bloody hand print now sat on his face like a gruesome mask. The evil pirate slowly made his way over to Kioko, stopping just a few feet from him. A sneer now sat on Kioko's face as he glared up at the smiling demon.

"You can't run from what you are, you can't run from what you are fated to do. Either they die or you die, but the thing is… neither you nor I can die. So it looks like you're left with one option," the demon turned and began walking toward the cliff. He paused and looked back over his shoulder at Kioko. "Just don't make too big a mess, that's my job."

With that the demon continued walking forward, laughing manically. The laughter seemed to echo through the area, concentrating itself around Kioko and causing him to cover his ears. The sound grew more intense until it felt as though it were shaking his body and his mind.

Kioko suddenly sat up in his bed, panting heavily with sweat running down his face. The room was dark except for the beam of cool moonlight shining through the window next to his bed. The soft light lit up his face and made the beads of sweat sparkle. It took him a few moments to catch his breath, but as he calmed down he felt something running from the corner of his mouth. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and held it up to the moonlight. A streak of crimson blood ran along his hand. The images from his nightmare suddenly came rushing back to him and made his heart sink. The moon light assured him that it was just a dream, yet the feelings from it were all too real. His body ached from the damage done to it by his evil side and the smell of burning flesh and blood still filled his nostrils.

With those feelings still present Kioko quietly made his way out from under his sheets and walked out of his room. He made his way quickly through the house, though the house was pitch black and he was still drowsy, he made his way through it with no problem. He reached the back door and made his way out back, walking over and standing next to the single palm that was perched precariously next to the edge of the cliff over looking the ocean. A firm sadness filled him as he looked over the ocean and up at the sparkling stars above. He half lowered his head as the memories continued. Though it was all fake the same feeling of responsibility sat planted inside him. He wanted it to be just a lie but the incident with Lilo just a few hours before made it seem too close for comfort.

If he had lost all control of himself, his dream might have become a reality that very night. The thought that they all could have died that same night made a sharp pang go through Kioko's heart. Kioko reached up and clasped his chest with his hand.

"I won't let it happen, not again." blurted Kioko, his voice quiet and confined. "I won't let them fall victim to this black curse that hangs over me. This black curse of death shall not end their lives. My hands shall not spill their blood." the image of that demon laughing entered Kioko's mind, causing him to sneer slightly. "I will find away, no matter what the cost I will find a way to spare them the fate that I presently hold over them. Even if it means breaking every bond I have with them. They shall never see that side of me that lusts for blood nor shall they see… that side of me… that monstrous side that has been the cause for all of my problems since my parents' deaths."

At that instant the dark aura, the scar of darkness, appeared, slowly rising and spiraling around him like evil itself. The aura was like a cloud, slipping over the edge of the cliff and fading away. Kioko slowly looked up toward the sky, his eyes dark and absent of any trace of kindness or warmth. He slowly removed his hand from his chest and extended it toward the palm tree next to him. His palm rested flat on it's trunk, and like a virus, the aura extended, wrapping itself around the tree.

"And though the seeds of this evil have been planted in another besides myself, I will still keep them from seeing it," the green leaves of the tree suddenly began to fade to a dull, lifeless grey color. "For facing it, means certain death." the tan brown trunk of the tree also began to fade to a grey color, the aura choking every drop of life from it.

The shadows seemed to ripple and move as if attracted to the aura. It lasted for only a few moments as the aura suddenly began to fade. With in seconds the aura was gone, returning to its place in Kioko's body. Kioko removed his hand from the now entirely grey tree, turned and slowly began making his way back to the house. "I shall repay for all that I have done, by stopping this curse, stopping the trail of death that seems to follow in the wake of my heart."

Just as Kioko reached his back door and stepped in, a gust of wind swept across the backyard. The tree with it's limp grey leaves and trunk slowly disintegrated, blowing away In the wind like ash from a fire. Drifting and dancing on the wind until it disappeared over the sparkling ocean.

**Well that's the end of this long chapter! I worked extra hard on my description for this chapter. So tell me what you think and please review.**


	10. The Final Day

Holidays

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 10: The Final Day

That day had finally come, the day one tiny ohana would lose a member and yet the day came like any other. Nothing seemed any different, only an air of inevitability changed the mood around the pelekai household. Every one had gotten up early, despite their late night party, in order to get things ready for the evening when they would say good bye to Kioko. The only one who wasn't yet awake and down stairs was Lilo, who still lay buried under her floral print sheets.

But her slumber was soon interrupted as the warm rays of the tropical sun shone in through her window, reflected off of her mirror and landed upon her face. The teenage girl cringed as the light penetrated her eyelids and hurt her eyes. She gave a tired grown as she rolled over onto her front and rested her face in her pillow. But this quickly turned out to be a bad idea as her air quickly ran out, causing the girl to roll back on to her back while gasping for breathe. She soon gave up on the fight for more sleep and slowly sat up, rubbing her tired eyes and carefully opening them a little.

The light hurt her eyes but not as much as her head, the girl quickly placed her hands on the sides of her head as a throbbing pain sat stubbornly in her mind. The night before she had snuck a glass of champagne behind Nani's back and now her throbbing head and painful moans were evidence that she had no Alcohol tolerance what so ever. She turned and hung her legs over the edge of the bed, her feet partially touching the floor. She continued to hold onto her head as she scooted toward the edge and carefully got to her feet.

"Ugh my head, how can they all drink that stuff and still get up in the morning?" groaned Lilo as she stumbled toward her mirror. She reached the mirror and slammed her hands down on the table in front of it as she glared at her reflection. " I look like the living dead." groaned Lilo as she stared at her pale skin and blood shot eyes.

The girl turned and began shuffling toward her closet, pulling her pale blue night gown up over her head and tossing it aside with no concern that some one could walk in to check on her. She got a pair of blue jean shorts and a red tank top on, as quickly as she could, put them on. She stepped out of her closet and made her way toward her door. Even the slight clicking of the handle made her head hurt more, making her cringe as she slowly pulled the door open and stepped out. She turned and made her way to the bathroom, where she popped a few Tylenol before continuing toward the stairs.

As she began down the stairs the sounds of the activity below made her head throb continuously. Nani was shouting at Jumba for some reason, the kids were talking loudly in the kitchen, Pleakly had his exercise video playing on the TV and Stitch and Angel could be heard shouting at each other over the sound of a vacuum cleaner in one of the rooms. All of this, mixed with the creaking of the stairs made Lilo want to rip her head off, or at least her ears. Lilo finally made it to the bottom and crept in to the Kitchen for a cup of coffee. As she walked over to a cupboard for a mug she noticed the kids standing on the chairs around the table working on a large card.

"What are you three up too?" asked Lilo as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"We're making a card for Uncle Kioko." answered Kina without even looking up.

"It's a little going away present." blurted Ashley as she grabbed a red crayon out of a tin sitting nearby.

"Are you going to give him anything, aunt Lilo?" asked Oki as he looked toward her.

Lilo gave a small huff as she turned away. "I already gave him my going away present." mumbled Lilo to herself, remembering her hand slapping him across the face.

With that Lilo walked into the living room where Pleakly was doing his aerobics. The girl looked upon him like he was an idiot as he nearly tied himself in a knot, trying to imitate the movements of the instructor. Lilo rolled her eyes as she made her way over to the couch, flopping down into its cushions and nearly spilling her coffee on herself. "And just what do you think you're doing, Pleakly?" asked Lilo after taking a sip of coffee.

"I've decided to start a yearly Holiday… exercise routine. I've heard it said that most people put on a few extra pounds during the holiday season… so… I'm burning off a few of the pounds I've put on as quickly as possible." explained Pleakly as he stretched and contorted himself into all different shapes.

"You put on a few pounds? How can any one even tell?" grumbled Lilo as she took another sip of coffee. The pain killers weren't having much affect on her pounding head ache.

"Well some one's in a grumpy mood this morning." replied Pleakly as he bent himself backward to look at her. "What's the matter?"

Lilo gave him a glare out of the corner of her eye. "Let's just say it's something I'll never do again."

Pleakly just gave a confused look and returned to his exercising but right as he did there was a loud explosion. Lilo and Pleakly both looked over to the door way leading to the hallway, a cloud of grey dust was settling to the ground. A moment later Angel came storming into the living room, covered in grey dust and dust bunnies. Stitch was following right behind her, with an innocent grin plastered on his face.

"Heh, I'm sorry Angel, Buchi-boo, it was an accident." pleaded Stitch as Angel stopped, turned and glared at the blue experiment.

"Accident? You were the one trying to vacuum the drapes!" shouted Angel.

Stitch's ears dropped down to his shoulders as he lowered his head timidly. "Well I didn't know they would…" started Stitch as he pressed his finger tips together.

"They wouldn't what Stitch? Get stuck in the vacuum and cause the thing to get blocked up and finally explode?" continued Angel as she threw her arms in the air, causing dust to fall off of her shoulders.

Stitch just looked up at her with big puppy dog eyes, still fiddling with his fingers. "Yes." blurted Stitch quietly.

A blank stare fell over the female experiments face as her arms dropped down to her sides as well as her ears. She rested her paw on her forehead and slowly dragged it down her face. "Stitch…" started Angel with a sigh. "I love you and I've come to expect these sorts of things from you. But I've already cleaned myself up once today and if you think I'm going to do it again… with out taking you down with me… you're nuts." grinned Angel evilly.

"What?" chirped Stitch as a confused look came over his face. Angel smiled and placed her paw on top of his head, with a quick motion she messed up the fur a top his head and left a dusty paw print on his forehead.

"Now come here and give me a hug, big boy." smiled Angel as she opened her arms wide.

Stitch instantly gave a yell, turned and ran back into the hall, followed soon after by Angel. Lilo held her head in pain, the experiments yelling was like a spike being driven through her head. As she rubbed her temples and slowly took another sip of coffee she was unaware of her older sister walking into the room. Nani immediately looked over at her sister and watched with growing suspicion as the young girl rested her head on the back of the couch. The older girl walked over in front of Lilo and stood ther, waiting for her sister to notice her. After a few moments Lilo finally opened her eyes and looked up at Nani.

"What's wrong with you this morning, Lilo?" asked Nani caringly, trying to hide her suspicion about her sisters condition.

Lilo gave a groan and closed her eyes again. "I've just got a huge headache that's all."

Nani folded her arms over her chest and gave a slow nod. "I see that you made yourself a cup of coffee. I was under the impression you hated that stuff?"

"Well I heard it helps clear up these kind of headaches." groaned Lilo as she took another sip.

Nani raised her eye brow and popped her hip to the side. "And what causes 'these' kind of headaches?"

Lilo looked up at her sister and then shifted her gaze away for a moment. "A cold maybe?" blurted Lilo, sounding unsure of her answer.

Nani gave another nod. "A cold huh? No, I'll tell you what causes those kind of headaches, a hangover Lilo, you were sneaking drinks last night weren't you?" said Nani her voice starting to rise to a yell.

Lilo put her hand on her head again as a pained expression rolled over her face. "Please Nani, no yelling, it hurts my head."

"Plus, Nani, I can't hear my video." blurted Pleakly as he stepped up next to Nani.

The older Hawaiian girl shot the noodly alien a cold look and then pointed to the kitchen. "Go help the kids make their card, Pleakly. I need to talk with Lilo alone."

Not wanting the girls wrath directed at him Pleakly obeyed and headed for the kitchen. Her eyes once again fell upon Lilo, who was glaring up at her with her own icy glare. "How many glasses did you have, Lilo?" asked Nani, her tone serious and strict.

"Only one." mumbled Lilo as she looked away.

"Are you lying to me?"

"No I'm not. I only had one." said Lilo, raising her voice slightly.

"Lilo." said Nani accusingly.

"I'm telling the truth, I only had one!" yelled Lilo wincing at the pain her own yelling was causing.

"Well then why did you do it, Lilo? You know you're not old enough to drink yet!" yelled Nani.

"I did it because I needed it!" replied Lilo leaning forward in her seat.

Nani clenched her teeth as her hand s fell upon her hips. "No one ever 'needs' Alcohol, Lilo!"

"Well I did!"

"And why is that?"

Lilo's angered expression faded away as she dropped her head. "I just needed it… that's all. I just wanted to get rid of some things in my head, but it's obvious to me that it didn't work. Because their still there."

Nani's own angered expression dropped to that of a concerned one as she watched her sister slowly get to her feet with her head still hung low. The girl turned and walked off toward her room, the cup of coffee still in her hand. "Lilo, what are you talking about?" called Nani as Lilo began to enter the hall.

Lilo stopped for a moment. "I'll tell you all later." mumbled Lilo before disappearing into the hall.

Nani was left with a concerned and dumbfounded look on her face. It wasn't just Lilo's hangover and stealing of alcohol that caught her off guard, something had changed within her sister. Her attitude had changed so drastically and she knew it wasn't just the throbbing headache she had that was the cause. Was it the fact that Kioko was leaving, she didn't know, but something had happened that made her sister suddenly revert to her old personality. The one she had right after their parent's deaths, the one that Nani had hoped was gone for good.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, the final packing was being done by Kioko as he gathered up the very last things he had. His ship sat in front of his home, cloaked just to play it safe, and ready to take flight. The last of Kioko's kitchen ware was packed in boxes along with stuff from his living room and set near the front door. The pirate was now gathering the last of his things from his bed room, the sheets from his bed were folded and put in boxes along with an alarm clock, a blaster pistol built from scratch and crumpled, wrinkled pieces of assorted papers.

Kioko gave a tired sigh as he knelt down in front of his nightstand. He reached over and pulled an empty box next to him and then began going through the drawers. He gave a slightly disgusted sigh as he found the top drawer filled with papers, receipts, bills and other things. He could have sworn that he had placed everything in piles with in the drawer, but now it looked like a bomb exploded.

"Who ever said 'Pirates are packrats' was right." laughed Kioko as he began pulling papers out and placing them in the box next to him. But as he pulled a small stack of papers out of the drawer his eyes fell upon a small picture frame that was turned over. A serious look came over his face as he reached into the drawer and pulled out the frame. He flipped it over to reveal a picture of him and Angel. A slightly saddened look replaced his serious one as he looked upon the picture. He was rolling his eyes with a wide smirk on his face while Angel had her arm wrapped around his neck, her cheek pressed against his and a big toothy grin upon her face.

Kioko quickly forgot about the other papers, he slowly stood up and sat down on the edge of his bed. A ton of memories came flashing into his head as he stared at the pink experiments face. Some were good, some were amazing and some weren't the best. The night that the picture had been taken was the clearest memory out of all of them. It was shortly after Angel had completed her first lessons on how to control and suppress the dark scar that dwelt within her. He had thought it deserving of a celebration and a special one at that. It would be just them, since they were the only two who knew about her problem it made sense, plus it would give them a chance to get to know each other a bit better.

To avoid any suspicion Angel had faked the symptoms that she usually had when the scar acted up and then snuck off to Kioko's house. He had scolded her later after finding out what she had done, explaining to her that the scar was not something to faked. But despite that the two of them had gone on with their celebration. The two of them had gone to see a movie and had played a round of miniature golf; afterwards he had taken her to dinner. She had made the comment that their "celebration" seemed more like a date, which had given them both a good laugh. Both of them knew it wasn't meant to be like a date but given the things they had done it seemed like one.

Kioko gave a sad sigh threw his nose as he ran his thumb gently over the picture. "If there were any one reason why leaving this planet is the best decision… it's because of you. Me being here puts your life at far too much a risk for me to take. I'd do anything to protect you… no matter what the cost is to my own life. Because in my eyes," Kioko gave a small laugh. "Your life is far more valuable then my own."

The pirate slowly got to his feet and walked over to the window, the picture still in his hands. He couldn't help but crack a small smile as he continued to stare at the picture. After all, it was more then just a picture to either of them. It was one memory that was for them to enjoy on their own, no one else in the family knew about it and so there was no chance of anyone ruining it. It was their little secret, their little treasured memory.

"I'm far too dangerous a person to get so close and attached to you, Angel. You're far too important to me; I need you to stay safe. It's just ironic that in order for that to be, I can't be around. I feel as though you are my sister, and as such it is my responsibility to protect you in any way possible." Kioko began to laugh as he looked away from the picture and out the window toward the sky. "Knowing you is like a double bladed sword. It is my duty to protect you, for you are the one keeping me in this state of mind. But at the same time, every fond memory we share together… brings me that much closer to death. You are a sweet poison, my dear Angel."

Kioko looked back down at the picture, turned and gently placed it in the box. He once again returned to pulling things from his drawers and placing them in their boxes. After a while he finished gathering everything that was left in his house and started packing everything into his ship outside. All of this had taken up what was left of the day and now the light of dusk was falling over the island. Back at the Pelekai house every one was piling into the dune buggy and Nani's jeep to head over to Kioko's. Lilo's hangover had finally faded but her attitude hadn't, she basically forced herself to get in the car. She didn't want to see Kioko again but for the sake of the kids and the rest of her family she made herself go.

Lilo buckled herself into the front passenger side seat and gave a sigh as she leaned her head back on the head rest. Nani looked over at her after turning the key and starting the jeep. Her concerned face once again appeared as she watched Lilo.

"Do you want to tell me what's bothering you know?" asked Nani as Lilo closed her eyes.

"Not right now." mumbled Lilo as she rested her elbow on the car door.

Nani's eyes narrowed as her worry grew a little larger. She knew something must have happened to make her sister like this, but what exactly escaped her completely. And to top it off, Lilo hiding what ever it was so deeply began to irritate her. The possibilities ran over and over again through her mind, constantly evaluating whether or not it was right. The whole thing was frustrating to no end.

"Nani, are we going to go or just sit here?" asked Stitch, sounding rather impatient.

"We don't want to miss Kioko. I wouldn't put it past him to just leave with out waiting for us you know." added Angel.

The experiments snapped Nani out of her thoughts and she quickly focused back on to getting under way. Giving one last glance over at her sister before starting off down the drive way.

**Well that's the end of this chapter. Nothing much to say except that this was one of my shorter chapters. Anyway, please review.**


	11. Farewell

Holiday's

By: Kioko the Pirate

Chapter 11: Farewell

The sound of crackling pebbles and dirt beneath tires filled the tiny jeep as the ohana made their way onto the dirt road that lead to Kioko's house. Stitch and Angel both looked out of the windows as the dense green forest rushed past them. The kids, Jumba and Pleakly were following in the buggy just a few car lengths behind them. Angel finally gave a sigh and flopped down onto the car seat, Stitch soon did the same.

"Hopefully he hasn't left already." said Angel sounding a little nervous.

"He's only going to be gone a year." blurted Stitch, trying to give a little comfort to her.

"Yeah, I know that but… a year can be a long time." Angel looked down at her necklace, the one that Stitch had given her for Christmas. She carefully clutched it in her paw and gave a long sigh. "It'd be hard for me to have him leave without saying good bye."

Stitch smiled and wrapped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her into a small hug. "I've never once seen him do anything to hurt you, and I really doubt he'd do anything now."

"You think so?" asked Angel with an airy voice.

"I know so. Besides, if he did then I'd just have to kick some sense into him." joked Stitch with a large smile.

Lilo cringed slightly as the two experiments began laughing. Knowing what the pirates true intentions were at first and hearing how much the others liked him made her feel even more like she'd been tricked. It made her feel like her whole family had just been brainwashed, nothing but a bunch of puppets, believing what ever he had told them. Lilo clenched her fist, popping her knuckles, as she felt her anger growing. Yet she kept a calm face, she didn't want them to know anything yet but that was another problem… when to tell them. If she did it while he was there, she could consider it revenge, getting him back for manipulating them by destroying everyone's love of him. But then she'd be reducing herself to his level, if not lower. The whole thing just kept getting more and more complicated by the second, the more she thought about it the more troublesome it got. But her time to act was quickly approaching and she had to make up her mind.

Just then Kioko's house came into view, his ship sat in front of it, now uncloaked and a light grey smoke pouring from the engines. Just a short distance away a black car sat next to palm tree, a large black man wearing sunglasses and a black suit was leaning against its hood.

"I see Cobra is already here." blurted Lilo as she sat up straight in her seat.

"We better hurry, it looks like Kioko is warming up his engines." added Stitch as he stared at the smoke coming from the engines.

The two cars pulled up near Cobras black car and came to a stop. They all could see Kioko standing on the other side of his ship, running his hand over its hull as he walked toward them. Everyone quickly began getting out of the cars, smiles on their faces as they all walked toward the pirate. They all meet up near by to the ship; Cobra slowly walked up along side the group and removed his glasses.

"The moment has come for you to depart, Kioko." blurted Cobra in a professional tone.

Kioko gave a small laugh as he looked at the man out of the corner of his eye. "No need to be so formal, Cobra, you are talking to a pirate after all. Besides, why are you here anyway?"

"I'm here to confirm that you do leave this planet."

"Why, can't your government trust a pirate?" smirked Kioko.

"The very fact that you are a pirate is the reason for me being here."

"Of course it is." said Kioko with a smile.

"Now, you have 15 minutes before you are in violation of your banishment from this planet. So I suggest you say your good bye's and be on your way as soon as possible."

"Pushy, pushy… that's very rude you know." said Kioko as he rolled his eyes. "I really don't care if I violate any of your laws, which shouldn't surprise you, so I'll take all the time I want."

The sun was now close to the horizon as twilight settled upon the island. The sky turned shades of orange, red and yellow and the few clouds in the sky turned as pink as Angel's fur. A cool breeze swept through the area as Kioko finally turned toward the family. They were all lined up as if they were in roll call. Pleakly and Jumba were first in line; Kioko stepped in front of them and extended his hand toward them. The two aliens smiled and shook hands with the pirate, but as soon as Jumba had released Kioko's hand Pleakly clenched his skinny fist and hit Kioko in the arm. Kioko raised his eye brow and looked over at the alien, who was now holding his hand after cracking his knuckles on the pirates arm.

"What was that?" asked Kioko, sounding a little irritated.

"I read that it is customary for Pirates to say good bye by punching each other firmly in the arm. So I thought it'd be respectful if I followed your tradition." explained Pleakly with a small smirk.

Kioko scratched his head and looked away for a moment before looking back at Pleakly. "Ok, two problems with that. One, you are not a pirate and the day some one like you becomes a pirate… the universe will cease to exist. Two, I don't think you want me to punch you firmly in the arm."

Pleakly looked up toward the sky, considering the pirates words and then gave a slow nod. "You… you're probably right about that." said Pleakly quietly as he rubbed his arm.

Kioko then shifted his gaze over to Jumba and gave a small smirk. "Though I'm sure you could handle one punch."

Jumba's eyes widened slightly as he raised on finger and wagged it in the air. "Oh no no, you know evil geniuses are not punching type peoples. Besides, Jumba bruises like round, orange Earth fruit."

Kioko chuckled and then moved on to Nani. The two shared a rather formal good bye, shaking hands and nodding slightly. Stitch was next in line; Kioko stepped over in front of him, looking down at the experiment with a small smirk.

"Well I bet you're relieved to see me go?" said Kioko quietly. Stitch lowered his head slightly as his ears dropped. "You'll be the strong one around here again. So I'm expecting you to take care of things while I'm gone my friend." Kioko kneeled down to Stitch's level and extended his hand to the experiment. "I admire you for all that you've accomplished, Stitch." Stitch looked up at the pirate with a rather surprised look on his face. "I could only hope to have what you have gained. In that way, you are indeed greater then I."

Stitch bit his lower lip as it began to quiver; he couldn't believe that Kioko had just said that to him. No one could believe it as they all looked on in amazement. A small smile formed on Angel's face as she watched the two smile at each other. Stitch looked between Kioko and his outstretched hand, with a small smile on his face. But to further every one's amazement, Stitch stepped forward, past Kioko's hand and wrapped his arms around Kioko's neck in a big hug. Even Kioko was surprised by the experiments reaction. But instead of trying to push the experiment away, Kioko clammy reached up and patted Stitch on the back.

Lilo had to turn her head in disgust; she couldn't watch her friend hugging the man who had been sent to kill him. After a moment Stitch released himself from the hug and took a step back, a happy smile plastered on his face. Kioko smiled back, gave Stitch one more pat on the head and then looked over to the kids. As he scooted over in front of them, their saddened expressions became clear as day. All three of them had their ears lowered and their heads drooping slightly; Kioko had to hold back a laugh as he found their demeanor at that moment somewhat on the pathetic side. They looked as though they had been defeated.

"Oh come on guys, I'm only going to be gone a year. It's not like I'm leaving forever." smiled Kioko.

The three kids looked up at him slowly, suddenly they al leaped forward at once, nearly knocking Kioko off balance as they all tried to wrap their arms around him. "We're going to miss you, Uncle Kioko!" cried all three of the kids at once.

"I'm going to miss you guy's too." smiled Kioko as he wrapped his arms as best he could around the three of them. "But I'll be back, don't worry about it."

"Do you promise?" asked Kina after nuzzling Kioko's arm.

"I promise."

Kina looked up at the pirate with a big smile on his face and teary eyes. "We made something for you, Uncle Kioko." blurted Oki.

"Yeah, something to remind you of us." added Ashley as she pulled away from the hug and turned around. She reached down and picked up the card that they had made, she turned it around and held it up for Kioko to see.

There were pictures of different events that the kids had remembered lining the edge of the card with the words "Good Bye Uncle Kioko!" written in big letters at it's center. Kioko gave an approving nod as he looked over the card. After a moment he smiled and rubbed each of their heads, making the kids giggle.

"Thank you, guys. That's a very nice card."

"You're welcome!" blurted Oki with a goofy grin on his face.

"We drew pictures of things we did and things we thought would help you remember us." explained Kina as he pointed at all the pictures.

Kioko gave a nod. "I see, we've got a Christmas tree, a pumpkin, a beach ball, a birthday cake," started Kioko as he examined the art work. But a small picture at the lower corner got his attention right away. "Say, what's this picture of down here?" asked Kioko as he pointed to the picture.

Ashley looked to where he was pointing and gave a smile. "That's just a picture of the wrestling match Mom and Dad had to make us."

Stitch and Angel both gave startled gasps as they both began to blush. Every one was either blushing slightly or trying to hold back a laugh. Even Lilo, who still had her head turned away, had to cover her mouth to keep from giggling. Kioko just raised an eye brow as Ashley handed him the card, he smiled and took it before leaning back toward Stitch.

"I thought you and Angel explained the whole… process to them already?" whispered Kioko into Stitch's ear.

"We did but… we may have just… left out a few details." said Stitch with a sheepish grin.

"Right… and your reason is…?"

"Hey, it's not as easy as you think." Stitch then turned to face the kids and instantly put a look of shock upon his face. "Kids look over there! It's a giant sea serpent!" shouted Stitch as he pointed toward the ocean. The kids all gasped and looked toward the ocean, while Stitch quickly grabbed the card, ripped the corner of it off that contained the picture, crumpled it up, tossed it in his mouth and swallowed.

He handed the card back over to Kioko as the kids all turned back around with confused looks on their faces. "What sea serpent, Daddy?" asked Ashley.

Stitch snapped his fingers and shook his head. "He must have gone back under water when you guys turned around; sea serpents are tricky little things you know."

Kioko gave a small laugh and rubbed each of the kid's heads one last time. "Again, thank you for the card guys. I really appreciate it."

The kids all smiled and gave their uncle one last big group hug before letting him move on to the final members of the family. Kioko's smile widened slightly as he saw Angel next in line, a smile of her own growing larger on her face. Kioko now scooted over in front of her, as he dropped to his knees in front of her she leapt forward and like Stitch wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. But unlike Stitch, Kioko was expecting it and quickly wrapped his arms around the little pink experiment as well. Angel gave a soft purr as she nuzzled Kioko's neck; Kioko gave a sad sigh as he stroked her back. After a moment the two pulled away from their embrace and looked straight into each others eyes.

"I think I'm going to be the one to miss you the most." smiled Angel with a tender look in her eye.

Kioko gave a small huff. "And I'll miss you most as well."

"I'm a little worried though about what will happen once you're gone. What if we need your help?" Angel's voice suddenly became filled with concern and a worried look matched it on her face.

"Angel, if you or anyone here ever needs help… you can just contact me over the video link; I'll be here in a flash if you ever need help."

Angel lowered her head for a moment and looked towards the rest of the ohana out of the corner of her eye. She looked back toward Kioko and gently pulled him closer. "What if my problem starts acting up and I can't handle it?" whispered Angel as she cupped her paw over Kioko's ear.

A soft smile formed on Kioko's face as she pulled away, looking up at him for answers. Kioko placed his hands gently on the females narrow shoulders and leaned in to her so his mouth was next to her ear. "I have total confidence in you now, Angel." started Kioko. "I've taught you all the techniques that are suitable for helping you deal with it. Just remember meditation and physical exercises are a big help."

Angel looked down toward the ground as an unconfident frown crossed her lips. "I still don't feel like I can handle it on my own. You've given me all of these warnings about what might happen to me if I let it overcome me… I just don't want anything to happen." said Angel in a solemn voice.

Kioko gave a sigh through his nose as he pulled away. "Look at me," Kioko gently raised her head so she was looking straight into his eyes. At that moment they were full of emotion; the tiny experiment could see confidence, pride, pleasure and yet at the same time she saw worry and even a tiny amount of fear. All together a stern and yet comforting look sat upon his face. "Nothing will happen as long as you stay strong and I don't mean in the physical sense alone. You must remain strong here as well as here." said Kioko as he pointed to her forehead and her heart. "No matter what may happen, you must always stay strong. And out of all the things I have told you, that must remain the most important. Got it?"

Angel's frown melted away into the slightest of smirks, she felt like a child whenever Kioko spoke to her with such a serious yet caring tone. It gave her a warm feeling inside, like no matter what there was some one to look out for her. Her smirk broadened slightly and she quickly wrapped her arms around the pirate in a soft hug, the way a daughter would hug a father. She rested her head against his strong chest as he stroked her head gently. As the family watched the two, they were beginning to expect Stitch to intervene, but to their surprise the little blue experiment just watched the two with a small smile on his face.

However Lilo still had a disgusted expression on her face as she glared at the two out of the corner of her eye. Her arms were now folded over her chest in a rebellious fashion. But as she looked away Kioko and Angel released each other, Kioko kissed the experiment on the forehead and then stood up and turned his head toward the girl. Lilo turned toward the pirate with an angry scowl on her face. Kioko only had a slightly arrogant smirk on his face as he stared at the girl. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Kioko finally spoke up.

"Well it's obvious you're still mad." blurted Kioko rather quietly.

"Why wouldn't I be? All these years and all of a sudden you just come and destroy everything I once believed."

Kioko gave a small laugh as he quickly glanced over at the rest of the family before looking back toward Lilo. "If you plan on telling them, I suggest you do it now."

Lilo was caught off guard, her eyes widened momentarily as she now stared at the pirate with a confused look. "What are you talking about?" asked Lilo, her voice stuttering a little.

Kioko's smirk faded slightly. "It'd make things easier for me; you see I'm not just leaving because I was told to… I'm leaving in order to keep you and your ohana safe."

"Safe from what?"

"Don't act dumb Lilo, you know what I'm talking about. I'm leaving to keep you safe from me; I'm far too dangerous a person to be around a family like yours. I need to get as far away as possible, and I don't want any reason to come back. And if you tell them and turn them all against me, it'd make that a whole lot easier." explained Kioko in a cold and serious voice.

Lilo's expression turned from confused and back to angry again. "That would be betraying this family again, you idiot. You promised them all that you'd come back after a year and by running away forever you'd only be betraying our trust in you again. I can't let you do that again, I'm not going to tell them with you around." snapped Lilo in an angry whisper.

"You're forgetting, Lilo, if you tell them now they'll hate me and won't expect me to come back. So I'd be free to leave and not have to worry about keeping such a promise."

"I'm not going to do it. They all love you Kioko and I'm not going to be the one to break their hearts."

"You'll have to tell them eventually, Lilo. So why not get it down with now?"

"What makes you think I have to tell them?" asked Lilo with a quiet huff.

Kioko was silent for a moment. "Because if you don't tell them then that secret will remain trapped within you. I don't think you want to live with the burden of keeping such a secret away from them."

Lilo opened her mouth to speak but stopped as she found no words to say. The pirate was right, if she kept a secret like that way from her family, she'd only add to her already burdened mind. Yet she didn't want to hurt her family and telling them that their once trusted friend was only there to kill Stitch would almost undoubtedly hurt them. It felt as though fate was against her at that point, there was nothing she could do to escape it. She had to tell them but to her surprise she now wanted to find away to keep Kioko from leaving forever as well. Just moments before she was glad to see him go but now she was trying to think of a way to keep him in her ohana.

The girl lowered her head as Kioko continued to stare at her. "You have to come back." blurted Lilo in a solemn voice.

"What?" asked Kioko sounding a little confused.

"I'll tell them, but you have to come back no matter what. I don't care how long it takes you, you just have to come back."

Kioko gave a sigh. "I can't guarantee that, Lilo."

"I don't care, you just have to come back. Even if everyone does turn against you, you just have to come back. Even if it's just for a day."

"I'll try my best, Lilo."

"You better. And while you're gone I'll try my best to learn alchemy." Lilo finally looked up at Kioko who was now looking at her curiously. "Just because we had this little disagreement doesn't mean I won't try myself. If anything I want to learn it in order to beat some sense into you." finished Lilo with a confident smirk.

A smile crossed Kioko's face as well. "If the Elric brothers couldn't beat me with alchemy, I'll be very impressed if you can."

"Well then prepare to be impressed." smiled Lilo.

Kioko gave another small laugh before turning and walking back toward his ship. In one leap he made his way up to the cockpit of the craft. He paused and turned back toward the family, smiles crossed every one's faces, even Lilo's. "Well this is good bye for now." shouted Kioko over the increasing noise coming from the engines.

"We'll miss you , Kioko!" shouted Angel in return.

"When you get back I want a rematch in arm wrestling!" added Stitch.

"Bye, Uncle Kioko!" shouted the kids in unison.

"Will be seeing you later!" yelled Jumba.

"We'll have a big feast when you get back! I'll cook!" added Pleakly which made every one wince in disgust.

Neither Lilo nor Nani said anything as Kioko gave a quick wave before stepping down into the cockpit. But as he did he stopped again and looked back toward Nani. "By the way, Nani. I needed to get rid of my Earth money so I've paid off your mortgage and paid your heating and water bills for the next four months." shouted Kioko with a small grin on his face.

Nani's jaw dropped as if it were made of lead. "You… you paid off all of that?" asked Nani in shock.

Kioko shrugged. "Yeah, I couldn't figure out what else to do with all the money I had lying around so, I decided that paying off your bills would be a nice farewell gift."

Nani was now speechless as the pirate turned and lowered the canopy, waving as it lowered. The family did the same even after the canopy was shut and Kioko could no longer be seen. After a moment a low rumbling filled the area as the engines began to glow with blue flame. Slowly the ship began rising off of the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Every one shielded their faces with their arms until the sand settled back down to the ground. The ship was now about 100 feet over head, it rotated in mid-air and angled its nose up toward the sky. Finally, a moment later, the engines exploded in a burst of blue flame and the ship rocketed toward the atmosphere. This time every one held their ears from the deafening noise of the powerful engines until the sound faded into the clouds. As silence settled into the area everyone kept their eyes on the skies, taking in the fact that Kioko was gone.

Without a word, Cobra turned and walked back to his car and drove way down the dirt road. Nani still had her jaw hanging open as she tried to come to terms with their new financial situation.

"You know that's one thing about Kioko I never realized," blurted Stitch. "He was filthy stinking rich."

"That's for sure." agreed Nani finally snapping out of her trance.

A few moments later the family piled back into the cars and began their way home. Sad expressions hung heavy on the kids' faces, while Stitch and Angel tried to comfort them. Lilo no longer had a sad expression of her own, she now had a rather proud smirk on her face, despite the nervous feelings she had about telling them the truth. She didn't know when exactly to tell them but she knew it had to be soon. It took her the rest of the evening to work her self up to it but she finally decided to come forward and reveal to them just what she had found out. She waited for the moment when all of the family was in the living room before telling them.

The room was quiet besides the sounds coming from the TV as the family all sat and watched a late night talk show. Lilo was sitting on the window seat looking around the room nervously. Despite the fact that Kioko had just left, every one had rather pleasant smiles on their faces as they enjoyed the peaceful evening. Lilo was now beginning to feel her nervousness building once more, she felt almost guilty about what she was about to do. But finally the girl managed to work up the courage, stood up, walked over to the TV and turned it off. Every one gave a disapproving moan as the girl stepped in front of the TV.

"Lilo, we were watching that!" shouted Nani.

"It was just getting to the best part of the show!" added Stitch.

Lilo clasped her hands together and let them dangle in front of her. She took a deep gulp and looked toward her family. "There's something I really need to tell you guys." Lilo's voice was quiet as she looked around the room at the family. She suddenly noticed that a certain pink experiment was missing. "Hey, where's Angel?"

"I think she's upstairs tucking the kids into bed." said Stitch as he gave a quick glance toward the hall.

Lilo gave a sigh as she looked in that direction as well. 'It's probably best if I told her in private anyway.' thought Lilo as she turned back toward the family.

"So what is it you are wanting to tell us?" asked Jumba.

"It better be important, young lady." added Pleakly waving his finger in an almost scolding manner.

Lilo took a deep breathe to try and clear her anxiousness before starting. "The other night, during the New Years party, I over heard Kioko and Cobra talking…" started Lilo.

"What were they talking about?" asked Nani sounding curious.

"They were just discussing what Kioko had to do after he left but… that's not what I need to tell you."

"Well then tell us already." blurted Stitch, sounding anxious to get back to the TV show.

Lilo gave the blue experiment a cold glare which made him sink into the cushion of the couch. "You be patient, Stitch!" shouted Lilo angrily. "After all this has a lot to do with you."

Stitch's ears perked up in curiosity, every one else also now looked at the girl with curiosity filling their eyes. "So, what did you hear?" asked Pleakly, sounding a little timid now.

Lilo looked away from Stitch and over toward Jumba, Nani and Pleakly. "At one point in their conversation, they started arguing over something that Kioko had been told to do a long time ago…" as Lilo began to explain Jumba and Pleakly looked at each other with worried expressions. "At first I was hoping it was just a lie, a misunderstanding maybe, but I was quickly proven wrong."

"What are you talking about, Lilo?" questioned Nani.

Lilo lowered her head. "I found out that… Kioko had originally been hired to…" Lilo paused.

"To what?" asked Pleakly, urging the girl onward.

"To… kill Stitch." blurted Lilo hesitating only slightly.

Nani gasped as Stitch's eyes shot open, yet Jumba and Pleakly did not seem too surprised. Stitch gulped as he looked around the room in disbelief. "He was after Stitch too?" asked Nani in disbelief. "Why, what reason could he have possibly had to go after Stitch?"

Lilo gave a sigh as she walked over and sat down in a chair near the TV. "Apparently the Galactic Federation and the Earth governments hired him to dispose of Stitch before he did anything."

"But I thought that's why Jumba and Pleakly were sent after him, to capture him before any damage was done?" continued Nani as she scratched her head.

"Well I guess they hired Jumba and Pleakly in order to hide the fact that they hired Kioko? After all I assume it wouldn't look good if a government like the Federation hired a space pirate for any reason."

"But, Lilo…" blurted Stitch, his voice shaking slightly. "How could Kioko have been after me, I don't recall ever seeing him?"

Lilo looked at the experiment with almost sympathetic eyes. "Well apparently he was never far from us. Even when you wondered off into the forest that one night, I heard him say that he thought about killing you then."

Stitch's whole body began shaking slightly at the thought of how close he came to death. He remembered clearly, feeling so lonely and lost that night, but never had it crossed his mind that he had been so close to death. And never had it crossed his mind that Kioko could have been after him. It seemed almost impossible, that as close a friend as Kioko could ever have been just another person out to get him. The whole thought of it made the poor little experiment feel uneasy about hugging him just a few hours before. But one thing suddenly popped into his head, if Kioko had been out to kill him, why didn't he?

"If Kioko was after Stitch, why didn't he ever do anything?" asked Nani, apparently she had been pondering that same question.

Lilo shrugged. "I'm not completely sure on that myself. He did mention that Stitch looked too innocent and defenseless while he was in the forest." Lilo then glanced over toward Jumba and Pleakly; she quickly noticed their lack of surprise. "What's the matter with you two, aren't you surprised by any of this?" asked Lilo her voice almost accusing them.

"Well…" started the two of them in unison.

"Well what?" barked Lilo when suddenly her eyes widened with realization. "You two knew about this didn't you?"

"Well, we might have been knowing about it a little." said Jumba as he looked away from the girl.

"Yeah, just a little." agreed Pleakly as he pushed his finger tips together.

Lilo looked at the two of them with an angry and upset look on her face. "How long have you known, and why didn't you tell us sooner?" shouted Lilo.

"It isn't like we have been knowing for a long time, Lilo." started Jumba. "Pleakly and I only found out about it a few years ago."

"Only a few years?" snapped Lilo.

"We didn't want to tell you, probably for the same reason you were hesitant to tell us." blurted Pleakly.

Lilo's angered expression disappeared in an instant. "I… I was just so nervous to tell you all because I was afraid to hurt you. I thought you'd become angry with Kioko, but… you don't seem to be. I don't understand why."

"Maybe it's because we expect this sort of thing from him." blurted Nani, her shocked tone gone, replaced by a tender one. Lilo looked over at her sister with confused eyes, begging for an explanation. "You built him up in your mind as something he wasn't and when that image you had of him was shattered you became angry."

"But believe us, Lilo." blurted Stitch, who had a calmer expression now as well. "It shocks us too, to hear that Kioko was out to get me, and it's still sending chills down my spine, but we can believe that it's something he would do."

Lilo gave a sigh, walked over to the wall near the kitchen and leaned against it. She folded her arms over her chest and lowered her head. "I guess you guys are right. After all I did see him as a super hero almost when I was younger, I just never saw him for what he was."

"Well you don't need to say it like it's a bad thing." smiled Nani, trying to bring some levity to the moment. "The important thing you need to see is that he never did anything to hurt us. Stitch is still alive and kicking…"

"Thank god." blurted Stitch.

"And Kioko has helped you through many hard times in the past. You can't hold something he never even did against him, especially with all of the good he's done for us." finished Nani.

Lilo was silent for a moment, not even looking up toward her family. Finally a small laugh began to escape her, growing into an amused giggle. She couldn't help but find it all so funny, she was laughing at her self more then anything. After their parents had died she swore to herself that she'd never think of anyone as a hero, besides Elvis, and now she realized that she had made a hero out of the one guy who most people wouldn't have been able to tell if he was a good guy or a bad guy. She felt almost childish about it, she felt so foolish.

"You're right, absolutely right." laughed Lilo as she looked up with a smile on her face. "I thought that a space pirate would never do anything like that and I set myself up for a let down. I was stupid and childish; the problem wasn't entirely with Kioko, but with me."

"What Kioko was going to do was bad, yes, but he didn't go through with it. In a way, you should almost be grateful toward him." said Nani.

"Well I wouldn't say grateful. He did nothing to hurt nor help during that time, but still… I'm thankful." smiled Lilo as she stood up straight and began walking into the hall.

"Where you going?" asked Stitch curiously.

"I'm off to tell Angel, but this time, I won't be mad, or hesitant." answered Lilo as she started up the steps.

With out another word from anyone the girl ascended the steps and stopped at the top. She looked down both ends of the hall as she tried to find out where Angel was. Her first guess was still in the kids' room. Lilo quietly walked down the hall and stopped in front of the kids' door. She pressed her ear against it to try and hear if Angel was in the room, she'd sometimes read the kids a story before bed and given what had happened that day it made sense that the kids would need more to get to sleep. But Lilo didn't hear anything coming from the other side of the door. She pulled away from the door and then looked down to the other end of the hall where Stitch and Angel's room was. She noticed the door open and instantly assumed that she was in the room.

The girl got down to the room and slowly peeked into the room. The lights were all off, the light from the moon was the only light, and it became apparent that the little experiment was not in the room. Lilo stood back and looked around with a confused look on her face. The girl scratched her head for ideas as she looked back down the hall. Suddenly she noticed that her own door was cracked open and a strip of light shining through the slot. Lilo made her way back down the hall to her room; she carefully pushed open the door and stepped in. She then noticed that the window across the room was open, the drapes were fluttering in the gentle night breeze as she made her way over to the window. Lilo crawled onto the window seat and peered out, looking around she finally noticed a figure sitting on the roof of the house.

Carefully, Lilo began crawling out the window, stepping onto the narrow ledge that sat below. She slide toward the roof and finally leapt across onto the roof. She crawled toward the figure, which soon revealed its self to be Angel. The pink experiment was lying on her back, staring up at the stars with her hands resting behind her head.

"Angel, what are you doing out here?" asked Lilo as she crawled over to the experiment.

"Just talking with the stars and enjoying the night." answered Angel in a dreamy voice.

An almost amused smile crossed Lilo's face as she sat down next to Angel. "Well uh, I think I may be a bit better at the conversation thing then the stars."

Angel gave a small laugh, letting Lilo know that she agreed. Yet she still remained focused on the glittering stars above. "What did you come out here for anyway?" asked Angel.

"Well…" started Lilo, trying to force back her nervousness. She knew that Kioko and Angel were extremely close and while the rest of the family had taken the news fairly well, she didn't know how the experiment would take it. But what confused her was why she was acting so care-free, it made Lilo even more uncertain of her decision to tell Angel the truth. But she knew she had to do it, she promised herself she wouldn't hesitate and she was going to go through with it. "I wanted to tell you something."

"Well can I ask you something first?" asked Angel as she looked over at Lilo. "It's something that's been on my mind for awhile."

Lilo looked at her curiously. "Sure, Angel… what is it?"

Angel looked back toward the stars with the same content smile still on her face. "Do you think it's possible to love more then one person?"

Lilo's eyes widened slightly as she found her self almost speechless by Angel's question. "Well… of course… you love your family and… your family is more then two people." shrugged Lilo.

Angel gave a small chuckle. "Not like that, Lilo. I mean truly in love. Is it possible, for some one to be in love with two people at the same time?"

"Well… I guess some one could… why?" asked Lilo, stumbling over her own words.

Angel's smile widened. "Because I think I might… be in love… with Kioko." said Angel quietly as her cheeks became red.

A sharp gasp escaped Lilo as her jaw dropped. "Angel, but what about Stitch!" shouted Lilo a small tone of anger hidden in her voice.

"Don't worry, Lilo." started Angel as she looked at Lilo. "I still love Stitch more then anyone but, that's where my problem begins. The feelings I get with Stitch I think, I'm starting to feel towards Kioko. That's why I asked you if one can love two at the same time."

The slightly angry expression that had made its way onto the girls face melted away into confusion. She was silent for a moment as she looked around, trying to find something to say. If anything this news was even more shocking then the news she had to tell Angel. "I… I don't know what to tell you, Angel." said Lilo finally breaking her silence.

Angel gave another chuckle and looked back toward the stars. "I kinda figured that. After all this isn't a problem most people face in their lives. It's just not normal; they say that when you find that special some one you feel complete. Like finding your missing half and finally becoming all you can be. But… for me it was different, my missing half, was broken in two. And I need both of those pieces to feel whole, and it just so happens that those two pieces are completely different people."

"I'm not sure I quite understand what you're talking about, Angel?" blurted Lilo, sounding almost guilty about not being able to pick up on what she was saying.

"Simply put Lilo, Kioko and Stitch both satisfy certain parts of who I am and neither of them can take the position of the other. When I'm with Stitch… I feel loved, I feel like I belong, he was my first love and so he holds a special place in my heart. He makes me feel like I have a reason to live; he makes me feel special and makes me feel like an equal. He satisfies my needs for companionship, he makes my life amazing…" Angel had a dreamy tone in her voice as she spoke; Lilo gave a small smirk as she saw just how much love she felt toward her friend.

"I get it; Angel…" blurted Lilo with a small laugh. "He's amazing."

Angel smiled. "He is, he's funny, smart, loving, supportive and just between you and me… pretty dang good in bed." whispered Angel as she looked over toward Lilo.

Lilo gave a slightly disgusted cringe, which she quickly hid behind a small smirk. "I'll take your word for it."

"But in the end he doesn't have everything I need. Despite all of his good traits, he doesn't understand me as well as I wish he did. Of course I can understand why, deep down he still sees me as the experiment I was before I was captured. But I've changed and that's something he can't see." explained Angel looking once again towards the stars.

Lilo did the same and gave a small sigh, finally, seeing where she was heading with this. "And Kioko sees that, right?"

"Yeah," replied Angel with the same dreamy voice as before. "He sees me for who I am now. He understands me better then anyone does and probably ever will. When I'm with Kioko I feel… carefree, I feel safe and secure. When he holds me, I feel like a child in her father's arms, it seems like there isn't a single thing I need worry about. I've even fallen asleep in his arms before, that's how carefree I feel. But none of that is what makes him so special to me, he's the only one who can help me with my problems."

Lilo scrunched her eye brows curiously as she looked over at Angel. "What problems?"

"Their nothing you or Stitch need worry about. It's just something that I've had since I was with Hamsterviel." Angel looked over at Lilo and saw the concerned look on her face. "It's something I'd rather not talk about. It's just something Kioko helps me with, since he has a similar problem." Lilo's curiosity grew a little more but decided to let it go.

"And that's why you feel so attracted to him, because he's like you?"

"Yeah, I guess it is." blurted Angel before falling into silence for a few moments. "Maybe I'm just mistaken about being in love with both of them. But none the less, I only feel whole when I have both of them." Angel looked over at Lilo, who was sitting with her knees against her chest and her eyes fixed straight ahead. "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Lilo began cursing herself in her thoughts for letting Angel go first or even trying to tell her the truth. Angel feels like she's in love with Kioko, how was she going to react to what she was about to tell her? The whole thing suddenly became more complicated then Lilo had expected, if anything it was the most complicated situation she had ever been in. But something inside told her to go ahead, to just come right out and say what she needed to say. She suddenly felt like she could handle anything that it might lead too. Lilo swallowed hard as she prepared herself; slowly turning toward Angel she lowered her knees away from her chest and turned her whole body to face the experiment. Finally, with a final deep breathe Lilo let what she had to say flow out.

"Angel, I found out that Kioko… was out to kill Stitch when he first came here."

The two fell silent as Angel stared at Lilo with an unfamiliar look on her face. Her mouth was partially open and her unblinking eyes were trained on Lilo. The two of them seemed like statues as they stared at one another. Finally, the silence was broken in an unexpected way, Angel began to chuckle. A look of confusion fell on Lilo's face as the experiment turned away as if the news was nothing.

"Is that all?" asked Angel, amused.

"Is that all? Is that your reaction to hearing that the guy you think you're in love with was out to kill Stitch?" said Lilo, her voice rising as she tried to restrain her anger.

"It's just that… I kinda figured it was something like that. I saw it in Kioko's eyes when ever he and Stitch were competing. He understands me and I understand him, and given that, it's not hard to see that such a thing would be possible." smiled Angel.

Lilo gave a sigh, followed by a short laugh. "Well… I'm the only one who apparently missed all of the signs. Everyone else in this family either knew about it or had a hunch… I had nothing. But come on, doesn't it bother you that he was after your Buchi-boo?"

"Stitch wasn't my buchi-boo then… I was still just a dried out pod floating inside that container. All of that happened before me, so why worry about it?" Angel closed her eyes and gave a relaxed sigh. "Now if Kioko tried that now, I'd have to kick him in the face with a high heeled shoe but… I know he wouldn't."

Lilo smiled and laid down on the roof, closing her eyes and putting her hands behind her head as a cushion. "Well this isn't the way I pictured this day ending. I thought for sure all of you would hate Kioko after I told you."

"Just goes to show you can never predict how anything will happen. But still, you had every right to feel angry toward Kioko and none of us would mind if you still held that anger against him."

"No, I'm not mad at him anymore at least not to the extent that I was before. I'll show him, I'll learn that Alchemy stuff and he'll see that no one messes with my Stitch and gets away with it."

Angel began laughing and was soon joined by Lilo. Their laughter echoed through the area as the stars shined down on them. But at the same time, thousands of light years from Earth, a lone ship floated through space, silent and seemingly lifeless.

"So she made her decision…" blurted Kioko as he sat reclined in his pilots chair, his feet resting on the control panel of the ship, a small glass filled with a dark green liquid sat firmly in his hand. "She made her decision and found it not to be as expected." Kioko raised the glass to his lips and took a quick sip of the green liquid. "Now it seems I have no choice… but to make my own decision. It's time to change this fate of mine, it's time to finally free myself and I hope… all of you can forgive me in the end."

**That's it! The end of "Holidays"! It's finally over! I hope you all enjoyed this story of mine. I'm not too pleased with this chapter, I missed a few details but, that's just something to work on. I'll be working on my other series for now, so don't expect the next story of this series for awhile. But when that next story does come, expect the action and drama to be at an all time high! I'll be working on My "Pirate Chronicles" (DeviantArt only) and then my long postponed Tejina chronicles. Thanks for reading, please review.**


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